The Road to a Happy Family
by elang4
Summary: Sequel to The Road to Happiness. Starts at the beginning of season 1. Rory and Jess are now 15 and are both going to Chilton together. Luke and Lorelai are still happily married. Find out what it's like when Rory and Jess start to grow up and get more independent and see how Luke and Lorelai's marriage progresses. There will be love, friendship but also some obstacles to overcome.
1. Chapter 1

**So here it is, the sequel! :) Thank you so much for your lovely reviews of The Road to Happiness. I hope you all decide to give this a go. :) So this starts in the first episode of season 1. Rory and Jess are both 15 and Alice is now 5. Rory calls Luke dad now and Jess calls Lorelai mom.**

 **Hope you enjoy! :)**

Chapter 1

Lorelai breezed into the diner and went up to the counter. "Please, please, please!" She said.

Luke looked up at her. "Aren't you missing someone?" He asked.

Lorelai looked around jokingly. "Don't think so!" She grinned.

Luke rolled his eyes. "So not a girl with brown hair and a ponytail?" He said.

Lorelai pretended to think. "Doesn't ring a bell." She said.

"Lorelai..." Luke said.

"Relax, she's with Rory and Jess! She wanted a piggy back ride off Jess." She grinned.

Luke had to smirk at that. He got her some coffee and gave her some. "Only one cup today." He warned.

"Thanks!" She grinned and sat down on one of the stools.

Just then the door opened and they heard a squeal. "Daddy!" Alice beamed and ran round and launched into Luke's arms.

"Nice to see where I rank." Jess said. "I give her a piggy back all the way here and then she just wants Luke."

Rory laughed. "Aw she loves you really."

"Yeh yeh.." Jess said and they walked over over Lorelai and sat next to her.

"You feeling unloved Jess?" Lorelai joked.

"She uses me!" Jess defended himself.

Lorelai smirked and looked over at Alice in Luke's arms. "Ok my turn. Come say hello to mommy." She said.

Alice grinned and jumped down from her dad's arm and ran round to Lorelai and climbed onto her lap.

"You want your usual?" Luke asked Rory and Jess.

"Yes please!" Rory said.

"Yeh." Jess said.

Luke went off to prepare their food.

* * *

Later that day, Lorelai ran through the inn holding two pieces of paper and ran into the kitchen. "Sook, they did it! They got in!" She exclaimed.

"What? Into Chilton?" Sookie asked getting excited.

"Yeh! I just got the letters. There are two places! They can start on Monday!" Lorelai beamed.

"Aw that's great!" Sookie said enthusiastically. "Have you told Luke?"

"Yeh I've just come from his! I can't wait to tell the kids! They'll be so happy!" Lorelai grinned.

"They deserve it." Sookie smiled.

"They really do. I'm so happy for them. This will be so good for when they're looking at colleges." Lorelai smiled. She sighed. "I'm so proud of them."

Just then Rory and Jess walked in, having finished at school. "Hi mom!" Rory smiled.

"Hey!" Lorelai grinned.

Rory and Jess stopped when they saw Lorelai and Sookie's grinning faces. "Is it me or do you think mom did something slutty?" Jess smirked at Rory.

Rory laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised." She looked over at them. "Ok what's up?"

Lorelai handed them both a bag and watched as they looked in their.

"I'm going to be in a Britney Spears video?" Rory asked pulling out a skirt.

Jess took out what was in his bag and he suddenly understood. He looked up at Lorelai. "We got in?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "You both did. You got into Chilton."

"Seriously?" Rory asked excitedly.

"Got the confirmation here." Lorelai said holding up the letters. "You can start on Monday."

"Oh my god! We got in! Jess, we got in!" Rory exclaimed and hugged him.

Jess smiled. "Yeh.." He said not quite believing it.

"I have to go tell Lane! Does dad know?" Rory asked.

"Yeh I told him." Lorelai smiled.

Rory beamed and ran and hugged her mom. "I love you."

"I love you too." Lorelai smiled, hugging her back. She looked at Jess. "Do I get a hug from you too?"

Jess smiled and went and hugged her too. "I should get to the diner for my shift." He said. "See you later mom."

"See you later." Lorelai smiled and watched them both leave.

* * *

The following day, Lorelai rushed into the diner. "We have to pay a deposit!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Luke frowned.

"I got another letter. They need a deposit or else they lose their places!" Lorelai exclaimed and handed him the letter.

Luke read it. "Whoa..." He said seeing all the zeros.

"Yeh..." Lorelai said quietly. "What are we going to do? They're so excited about it."

Luke sighed and adjusted his cap. "Well we do have those savings..."

"Yeh but this would use most of them, then we'd have none left for Alice." Lorelai said.

Luke was quiet for a moment thinking. He looked up at her. "What about your parents?" He asked cautiously.

Lorelai's head shot up. "What about them?"

"Could they..uh..help?" He asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm not going to them. I can't." She said.

"Lorelai..."

"No we will have to find another way." She said adamantly.

"Ok." Luke said.

Later though, after going through all the different options, Lorelai knew Luke was right. She drove her jeep to the house where she had grown up. She hesitated before ringing the doorbell of the front door. She was surprised when her mother herself opened the door. "Mom. Hi." Lorelai said.

"Well this is a surprise." Emily said.

"Um may I come in?" Lorelai asked.

"Ok." Emily said holding the door open for her. She then took her through to the living room where they sat awkwardly. "So how's the family? You're still married, aren't you?" She said snidely.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Yes I am. They're good." She gritted her teeth.

Emily just nodded.

"Is dad around? I need to ask you both something." She said.

"You need money." A voice from the doorway said.

Lorelai turned to see her dad walk in with a newspaper in his hand. "Hi Dad."

"You need money." He repeated.

"Can I just get this out please?" Lorelai said. When her parents were quiet, she took another deep breath. "Rory and Jess have been accepted into Chilton."

"Both of them?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yes." Lorelai said holding back her anger about Emily's obvious surprise at Jess. "The thing is, they can start on Monday but they need a deposit unless they lose their places."

"So you need money." Richard said with a small smile.

Lorelai sighed. "Yeh..." She said quietly.

"I'll go get the chequebook." Richard said.

"Thank you." Lorelai said gratefully.

"Hang on." Emily said.

"So close." Lorelai muttered.

"If we're going to be financially involved in your life, we want to be physically involved in your life." She said.

"What?" Lorelai asked, dreading what she was going to say.

"I want a dinner. Every Friday. With you and Rory." Emily said.

Lorelai shook her head. "If you want a family dinner, you invite the whole family. You have a grandson and another granddaughter, you know." She said.

"He's not our grandson." Emily said.

"What, so you aren't going to pay for him?" Lorelai asked.

Emily made a face.

"That's real nice, mom. Real nice!" She said angrily.

"Calm down, Lorelai. We didn't say we wouldn't pay for him." Richard intervened. "Now if we're having a weekly family dinner, you should bring the whole family." He said.

Lorelai just nodded at Richard. "Ok. Well I should go."

She left and let out a big breath. She couldn't believe she agreed to this but this was for Rory and Jess. They had to go to Chilton.

* * *

Friday evening, the five of them were all stood outside the Gilmore Mansion. "Why do we have to be here?" Jess grumbled.

"Oi, you'll be nice and polite. Got it?" Luke said sternly.

"Fine." Jess mumbled.

"So are these my Grandma and Grandpa?" Alice asked her mom.

"Yes hon. They're my parents." Lorelai said. Her parents had come to see Alice when she was born but after that, they rarely came.

A maid answered the door and they went inside. Emily came through to the foyer. "You're here." She said.

"Yep we're here." Lorelai said.

"Rory! It's so good to see you!" Emily smiled. "Now you have to tell me all about Chilton." She said putting her arm around her and leading her into the living room, ignoring the others.

"And here we go..." Lorelai muttered angrily.

"Mommy?" Alice said confused.

Lorelai sighed and took her hand. "Come on, let's go through." She said heading into the living room with Luke and Jess following them. "Hi dad." She said spotting him on the couch.

"Good evening Lorelai." He said looking up.

"I know you haven't seen her in a while but this is Alice." She said trying to get them to acknowledge her.

Richard looked at Alice who shyly held onto her mom's hand. He gave her a small smile. "Good evening Alice." He said kindly.

"Hello." Alice said quietly.

"What is she wearing, Lorelai?" Emily said disapprovingly, looking over Alice's outfit which consisted of jeans, a t-shirt and she was holding her treasured baseball cap.

"What she normally wears." Lorelai said shortly.

"Let's get some drinks." Richard said trying to change the subject.

They all sat down and took the drinks Richard prepared for them.

"So Jess, I hear you got into Chilton as well?" Richard said.

"Uh yeh...mo..I mean Lorelai wanted us both to go to a good school so we looked into Chilton." He said. He wasn't sure whether to call Lorelai mom infront of them.

"Mommy?" Alice whispered. "Why is Jessie calling you Lorelai?" She asked.

"What's that Alice?" Emily asked. "You know whispering is very rude."

Alice shrunk back on the couch.

"Well?" Emily said annoyed.

Alice looked at her mom. "Why is Jessie calling you Lorelai?" She said a bit louder.

Lorelai sighed and glanced at Jess.

"Why wouldn't Jess call her Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"He normally calls her mom." Alice said innocently.

Emily stiffened. "Well he shouldn't."

"Mom." Lorelai said.

"Why not?" Alice asked.

"Because she's not his mother." Emily said.

Alice was confused. "You're not his mom?" She asked.

"Technically I am." She said to her daughter.

"But daddy is Rory's daddy, isn't he?" Alice asked.

"Yes he is." Rory interrupted, glancing at Luke.

"Seriously Lorelai, you let Rory call Luke dad as well?" Emily asked shocked.

Lorelai sighed. This was going horribly wrong and she could see Alice getting really confused. They hadn't explained the family dynamic to her. "Mom, can we leave it please?"

"Why? Alice should know the truth." Emily said snidely. "Alice, Rory and Jess aren't your sister and brother." She said.

"They're not?" Alice said quietly, getting upset.

"Mom!" Lorelai said angrily.

"Rory, Jess, why don't you take Alice into the other room?" Luke suggested.

They nodded. "Come on munchkin." Jess said holding his hand out to her.

Alice took it and followed them out. Rory and Jess glanced at each other when they heard Lorelai start to raise her voice. They decided to take Alice upstairs so she wouldn't hear them. They went into what looked like Lorelai's old bedroom.

"Come on, let's sit up here." Rory smiled at Alice.

Alice did without saying something. Rory and Jess then sat down either side of her.

"Now I know you heard Grandma say some things." Rory said softly.

"Are you not my sister and brother?" Alice asked quietly.

Rory sighed. "Technically I'm your half sister so I am basically your sister. Your daddy isn't my real daddy but he is as good as. That's why I call him dad." She explained.

"Who's your daddy?" She asked.

"Someone called Christopher. Mommy met him when she was my age. He was her first boyfriend. But he did some bad things and I haven't spoken to him for years. Your daddy adopted me." Rory said. "Do you understand?" She asked softly.

Alice nodded slowly.

"It's a bit more complicated for me." Jess said. "Your daddy is actually my uncle. You know I call him Luke, right?" He asked.

Alice nodded.

"That's why. He's my uncle. His sister is my biological mom but she sent me to live with him when I was younger. Him and your mommy got joint custody of me so they're responsible for me. I've lived with them since I was 9." Jess explained.

"But you call mommy mom." Alice said.

"I do. She's a good mommy to you, isn't she?" Jess said.

Alice nodded.

"When I was 9, I wanted that. My mom wasn't a really good mom so your mommy stepped up and looked after me like a mommy should. I started calling her mom after they got married." He explained.

"So you see, I see Luke as my dad and Jess sees mommy as his mom. So technically that makes us siblings. The biology may be a bit complicated but we're a family and that's what matters. We love you just the same and we'll always be here for you, ok?" Rory said.

Alice nodded. "Ok." She said quietly.

"So don't be upset, ok? Your Grandma just doesn't understand our family. You listen to us ok. What Rory said is right. In our eyes, you're our baby sister and we love you." Jess said.

"I'm not a baby." Alice said.

Jess smirked. "Ok, our younger sister then." He chuckled.

Alice giggled a bit.

"So can you give your big brother a hug?" Jess smiled.

Alice smiled and threw her arms around him. She then did the same with Rory.

Luke smiled from the doorway. "Come on, you three. We're leaving." He said.

"Without having dinner?" Rory asked.

"We've agreed that it would be for the best." Luke said.

Alice ran over and jumped into his arms.

"You ok sweetheart?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Good. Come on then." He smiled and they all headed downstairs. As they were though, they heard the end of the argument.

"Well I wasn't too proud to come here and beg you for money for their school, was I?" Lorelai exclaimed angrily.

"Yes well you get your money and we get our weekly dinners. We both win." Emily said.

Jess and Rory exchanged glances in surprise. They looked at Luke who grudgingly nodded to tell them it was true.

"God, everything makes sense now." Rory said.

Jess looked at Luke. "So this is going to be a weekly thing?" He asked.

"Yep." Luke said.

"Great." Jess grumbled.

* * *

On Monday, Jess and Rory sat in the back of the jeep as Lorelai and Luke went with them to their first day at Chilton. Rory glanced across at Jess. "We stick together right?" She said.

Jess nodded. "Definitely."

After a visit to the Headmaster's office and another awkward encounter with Emily, they headed off to their first lesson. They ran into an intense brown haired girl after the lesson who vowed she would be the top of the school and not them. They then went off to find their lockers together.

"Hey Mary!" A blonde haired guy came up to her.

Rory frowned. "Me?" She asked.

He nodded with a smirk.

"My name's Rory." She said.

"Tristan." He said.

Rory went back to trying to open her locker while Jess opened his easily. "How did you do that?" She asked.

"It wasn't that hard." Jess smirked.

"I swear mine's stuck!" Rory exclaimed. She started tugging it and suddenly it flung open and it sent her backwards bumping into Paris who dropped her project. "Oh my god, Paris, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed.

"Just stay away from me!" She growled picking up the pieces of her project and storming off.

"Well today's going well." Rory grumbled. "You got history next?" She asked Jess.

He shook his head. "English, sorry."

"And what's the likelihood that Paris is in my history lesson?" Rory said.

"It would just be your luck." Jess smirked.

Rory sighed. "See you at lunch?"

He nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She said.

"Hey Mary, if you need any help keeping Paris in place, just ask." Tristan smirked.

"I can look after myself thanks." Rory retorted and walked off.

Tristan saw Jess looking at him. "What?" He chuckled.

"Nothing." Jess said.

"She your sister?" Tristan asked.

"As good as." He said.

"Jess right?" He asked.

Jess nodded.

"Good to meet you. I've got English next too. You know where to go?" He asked.

Jess shook his head.

"I'll show you." He said.

"Thanks." Jess said and followed him.

"I can show you how to survive this school. You've come to the right guy." Tristan smirked.

"We didn't technically come to you though." Jess smirked. "You ambushed us."

"Ah the technicalities don't matter." Tristan smirked. "Stick with me. I'll show you all there is."

"Sounds intriguing." Jess smirked and followed Tristan to the right classroom.

* * *

At the end of the day, Jess and Rory were walking out together when Tristan ran up to them. "Going without saying goodbye?" He joked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Why would I want to say goodbye to someone who can't even remember my name?"

Tristan shrugged. "Common courtesy." He grinned. "I sat with you guys at lunch."

"Oh yeh, lucky us." Rory said sarcastically.

"Rory!" Alice shouted from across the courtyard.

Rory smiled when she saw her younger sister and mom waiting by the jeep. "I'm being summoned. I'll leave you to say goodbye to your new best friend." She said to Jess and ran off towards Alice and Lorelai.

"Was it something I said?" Tristan grinned cheekily.

Jess smirked. "Word of advice. If you want her to like you, stop winding her up and learn her name."

"What would be the fun of that?" Tristan smirked.

Jess just shook her head. "See you tomorrow Dugrey."

"See ya." Tristan chuckled and watched as Jess walked off towards and watched as the young girl gave him a big hug. He watched them all get in the jeep and then drive off. He then headed off to his car thinking about what a good day it had been for a change.

"So good day?" Lorelai asked as they drove home.

"No, it sucked." Rory said. "This girl already hates me and all the guys are calling me Mary."

"No way!" Lorelai laughed.

Rory saw Jess smirking as well. "Hey, it was your new annoying best friend who started it!"

Jess chuckled. "Just ignore them. They'll soon get bored."

"What do you see in Tristan anything? He's so frustrating!" Rory said.

Jess shrugged. "He's alright. He actually took an interest in me. That's more than anyone else did."

"So did your day go any better?" Lorelai asked him.

"Yeh it was ok." Jess said.

"Good. Anyway, I think we're having lasagne for dinner so I hope you're hungry!" She grinned.

"Always!" Rory grinned, brightening up.

Jess chuckled. "Yeh I could eat."

"Me too!" Alice giggled.

 **So what did you think? I decided to merge the first two episodes because otherwise it wouldn't have been long enough. I hope you liked it! :) Please review and let me know what you think! I'd love it if you could get behind this like you did with The Road to Happiness. Thanks! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews already! :) Thought I'd treat you with another chapter! :)**

Chapter 2

"I can't believe you got me to agree to that." Jess said as they entered the house having had their second weekly Friday night dinner. It had been a slightly better evening than the one before but Emily had managed to persuade Rory to let Richard teach her how to golf at the weekend as they needed to learn a sport for Chilton.

"I didn't want to go by myself. Plus you need to learn a sport as well!" Rory pointed out.

"Yeh but Luke could have taught us." Jess pointed out.

Rory glanced at Luke. "Sorry." She said.

"Don't worry about it. It will give you some time with your Grandpa." Luke smiled. "And you, behave!" He warned Jess.

"Yeh yeh.." Jess said.

* * *

The next morning, Richard, Rory and Jess were all walking across the golf course to get to the first hole. It had been slightly awkward as it was obvious that Richard hadn't wanted to do this in the first place.

"So..um..Grandpa what do you do?" Rory asked.

"I'm in the insurance business." He replied.

"What exactly do you do?" She asked interested.

"Oh I do a myriad of things. It'll bore you." He shrugged off her question.

"Oh. Ok." Rory said.

Jess noticed her disappointment face and then Richard did. "I'm involved in the international department of our company quite a bit." He said.

"That sounds cool. Do you travel a lot?" Rory asked.

"Quite a bit yes." He said.

"Lucky." Rory said.

"I'm guessing you have a yen for travel then?" Richard asked.

"Oh yeh. I'd love to travel the world." Rory smiled. "Jess and I made a plan that when we graduate, we're going to backpack through Europe."

Richard looked at Jess. "You're interested in travelling as well?" He asked.

"Uh yeh. We have a plan to go to a bookshop in every country." Jess said.

Rory grinned. "Knowing us though, we'll just stay in the bookshop and not actually do any sightseeing though."

Jess smirked. "Probably."

"You're both into reading then?" Richard asked, actually getting interested in knowing a bit more about both of them.

"You should see our bedrooms!" Rory laughed. "Between us, we could probably fill a library."

"Well reading is good for the young mind." Richard said impressed. "Which authors do you like?"

Jess smirked. "That's the one thing we don't agree on." He said. "I like Hemingway personally."

"Hemingway is a good author. He's written some interesting books." Richard said.

Jess shot Rory a triumphant look.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I'm into the Russian writers at the moment. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. I also like Ayn Rand."

"Very different choice of authors." Richard smiled. They stopped on the first course. "Well here we are. Who wants to go first?"

Rory looked at Jess.

"I guess that will be me then." Jess smirked. He stepped up and put the ball on the tee. He chose a club and then position himself beside it. He swung and hit it, sending it far into the distance.

"Wha...How did you do that?" Rory exclaimed.

"Guess it's just god given talent." He shrugged.

"That was very impressive." Richard said. "Have you played golf before?"

Jess shook his head. "I used to watch a lot though. There was nothing else to really do when I was living in New York so I used to watch it on tv."

"Well I must say I am quite impressed." Richard said.

Jess just shrugged. "Yeh well..."

Rory was up next but in true Gilmore style as she swung to hit the ball she took a whole chunk of grass with it. She turned back to see Jess trying not to laugh. "Hey! I'll hit you with this if you're not careful."

Jess smirked. "I'm sorry but this is so something you've inherited from mom. She would so suck at this as well."

Rory grinned. "She'd be worse than me! She would get bored so quickly and then want to find something to eat."

Jess chuckled.

Richard watched their interaction and saw how easy their banter was. He'd also noticed when Jess had said that Rory had inherited it from mom. He didn't say her mom, he said mom. He watched as Jess stepped forward to help Rory and he couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He was technically his grandson and he knew nothing about him. Maybe this trip had been a good idea after all.

After they'd finished they grabbed some lunch and then got in the car to head home. Jess and Rory had to get back early as they had promised to help out with the wedding that was being held at the inn that afternoon.

* * *

"So I guess that wasn't half bad." Jess said as he and Rory walked across the grass to go into the inn after Richard had dropped them off.

"Yeh it was actually quite fun." Rory agreed. "Grandpa seemed to warm up. I think he enjoyed it too."

"Yeh he's actually alright, you know." Jess said.

Rory smiled and they headed inside to find Lorelai having an argument with Michel.

"I am not going anywhere near those swans!" He said.

"Michel, they need to be taken to the lake and I've got 100 things to get doing here." Lorelai said.

"Aw is Michel scared of swans?" Jess smirked as he and Rory went up to them.

"No. No I am not! I just don't want to be anywhere near those filthy creatures." Michel said.

"Why not?" Rory grinned, enjoying winding him up.

"Fine. You really want to know why? If you take such pleasure in hearing, I had a bad incident with a band of swans when I was younger." He said petulantly.

"A band? Like a boy band?" Lorelai grinned.

"They attacked me. And that is why I don't want to be anywhere near them. You happy now?" He said.

Lorelai grinned. "Fine. But you better find something useful to do here." She said. She turned to Rory and Jess. "Could one of you...?"

"On it." Rory grinned and went outside to sort out the swan situation.

"Right, so we've got a situation." Lorelai said to Jess. "One of the servers for the reception afterwards has called in sick."

"Why do I feel like I know what's coming?" Jess groaned.

"I know but we're desperate. Sookie's freaking out and she doesn't want to spare any of her kitchen staff. Please?" She begged.

Jess sighed. "Fine. But I'm not wearing a stupid uniform." He said.

"Aw but you'd look so cute in one." Lorelai grinned.

Jess rolled his eyes. He looked around. "Is Luke coming?" He asked.

"Yeh a bit later. Alice is with him at the moment. He's bringing her later so she can watch the wedding." Lorelai said.

"Cool." Jess said.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the five of them were watching the wedding from up on the porch. Lorelai smiled across at Luke. "Do you remember? 6 years ago."

Luke smiled back at her. "I remember it perfectly. Best day of my life."

Lorelai smiled. "Definitely."

The ceremony was soon over and it was all set out for the party afterwards. There was a buffet so everyone was just standing up and mingling. Jess was tasked with going round with a tray of drinks for the guests. He suddenly saw a familiar face and smirked. He went up to them. "Thought you'd stake out where I lived?" He said.

Tristan turned round. "Hey." He grinned. "Nice suit." He smirked.

"Yeh, my mom's doing." Jess groaned. "I told her I wouldn't wear one but she can be very persuasive."

Tristan smirked. "So you work here?" He asked, genuinely surprised that he was there. He then spotted Rory up on the porch. "Oh you're both here." He said.

"We live in this town. Our mom runs the inn so we help her out sometimes with events." Jess said.

"Oh cool!" Tristan said.

"It's alright I guess. One of the servers called in sick last minute so I was volunteered." Jess said.

Tristan chuckled. He glanced up to see Rory still leaning against the rail watching everyone with who he assumed was their younger sister. "So is Rory working today?" He asked.

Jess rolled his eyes. "You've got a long way to go with her mate. She thinks you're the devil incarnate." He smirked.

"At least she thinks something of me." He grinned cheekily. "I'll catch you later."

Jess just shook her head and watched him weave through the crowd of people. He was watching where he was going and suddenly he bumped into someone, spilling some of the drinks.

"What the hell? Watch where you're going!"

Jess looked and saw a brown haired girl with long wavy hair about his age. "Could say the same to you." He said.

"I'm soaked!" The girl glared at him. "Aren't you even going to say sorry?"

"Sorry." Jess smirked.

The girl scowled at him. "You think this is funny or something?"

"It's made my evening." He said.

"Urgh you're impossible!" She exclaimed and she went to walk off.

Jess chuckled but then started to feel a bit guilty. "Hey wait up!" He said.

"Why, so you can chuck another drink over me?" She asked turning back to face him.

"Well if that's an invitation..." He smirked.

"Forget it!" She said going to walk away again.

"No seriously wait. There's a bathroom just inside to the left. If you want I can ask my mom if there are any spare jackets or something that you can wear over your shirt." He said. He saw her look a bit confused. "Oh she runs the inn." He said.

She let out a frustrated breath. "No it's fine. Once I wash it a bit, it should be ok." She said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeh."

"Ok, well I'm Jess by the way." He said.

"Kate." She said.

"I really am sorry." He said.

"It's fine." She said. "Just watch where you're going next time." She said and walked off to go to the bathroom.

Jess smirked as he watched her and couldn't help but be intrigued by her. She wasn't your normal girl.

* * *

Luke walked over to Lorelai who had just finished talking to the mother of the brides. "Hey." He smiled. "She happy?"

"Yep, apparently her daughters have just announced they're moving out. She's over the moon." Lorelai grinned.

Luke chuckled. He looked over to the dancefloor where everyone was dancing. Suddenly a slow song started. He looked at Lorelai and held out his hand. "Fancy a dance? To remember what happened here 6 years ago?" He smiled.

Lorelai smiled back and took hold of his hand and let him lead her to the dancefloor and then they slowly waltzed around together.

Rory and Alice were watching them from the porch. It was only when Rory felt a presence beside her that she looked. "Whoa, announce yourself next time!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a wedding. I was invited." Tristan said.

"Isn't there someone else you can bother?" Rory asked.

Tristan smirked. "Not really. It's hanging up here with you or being introduced to every family by my parents and having to make small talk with people I barely know."

Rory just shook her head. "Jess is down there somewhere. Go annoy him." She said.

"I'm Alice!" Alice suddenly interrupted them. "Are you Rory's friend?" She asked.

"No he's not." Rory said.

"Then why do you keep talking to him? It looks like you know him." Alice said.

"God why did you need to be another genius?" Rory said. She sighed. "Tristan, this is my sister Alice."

Tristan chuckled. "Hi Alice." He smiled.

"Hi!" Alice grinned.

"Are you enjoying the wedding?" He asked.

"I love it! It's so fun to watch." Alice said enthusiastically. "Sometimes we're allowed to join in as well."

Tristan chuckled. "That's great! Dancing's not really my thing. I tend to just look like a headless chicken if I do it."

Alice giggled. "I like you. You're funny!"

Tristan smirked. "See, your sister likes me." He said to Rory.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Well done. You appeal to the younger girls as well as pretty much every girl in the school. You must be proud." She said sarcastically.

"You wound me Mary." He joked.

"Good." She retorted.

"Tristan!" A woman called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry obligation calls." He said. "It was great to meet you Alice. Try and see if you can get your sister to like me, ok?" He winked at her.

Alice giggled as Tristan left. She looked at Rory. "He likes you." She said.

"No he doesn't. He just likes annoying me." Rory said.

"He kept smiling at you! That shows he likes you." Alice said.

"Ok stop being so smart and watch mommy and daddy dance." She said.

Alice giggled but turned back to watch the dancing again. Rory watched them as well but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tristan making his rounds and talking to several people. He caught her eye and she quickly turned away. "Egotistical jerk..." She muttered to herself.

 **So what do you think? :) Please keep the reviews coming and let me know! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying it! :) Here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 3

Rory and Jess were sat in English Lit together while their teacher, Mr Medina, was handing back their essays that they had written. When he got round to Rory, he handed her the essay and gave her a reassuring smile. "Look over my notes. They'll help for the next one." He said.

Rory looked down at her paper and saw a huge red D on the front of it. She glanced over at Jess who she could see had gotten a B. After the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson, Rory got up quickly and rushed out the room.

"Rory, wait!" Jess called, running to catch up with her.

"I suck!" Rory exclaimed. "I've never gotten a D before! I suck!"

"You don't suck." Jess assured her. "It was the first essay. We started late. It was always going to take us a bit of time to catch up."

"Then why did you get a B?" She said.

Jess sighed. "Rory..."

Tristan then came up. "Hey Mary." He said.

"Leave me alone." Rory snapped.

"What's wrong with you? Bad grade?" He asked.

"Why don't you go bother someone else?" She retorted and stormed off.

Jess sighed. "Good going mate." He said to Tristan.

"What? How did I know she would get all upset and mad about a grade?" He defended himself.

"If there's one thing you need to know about Rory, it's that she takes school seriously. She wants to do well and get good grades and if she doesn't, she feels like she's failed." Jess said. "So wind it in a bit ok?" He said and went off in the direction Rory went.

* * *

Later that day, Jess was trying to find Rory to get the bus home with her but he couldn't. He then felt his phone vibrate and saw a message from her. _My last lesson ended early so I left early to get some studying done, sorry._

He wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch it!"

Jess looked up, recognising the voice and realised it was the girl from the wedding. "Could say the same to you." He smirked.

"You!" She scowled. "Well at least you don't have a tray of drinks this time."

Jess smirked. "Yeh sorry about that. Kate right?"

"Yeh. Jess?" Kate said.

Jess nodded. "I'm just heading to the bus so I promise next time, I will watch where I'm going." He said.

"You better." Kate said but Jess could have sworn he saw her trying not to smile.

"I guess I'll see you around." Jess said.

"Yeh whatever." She said and walked off.

"You're in there, mate." Tristan said coming up to him.

"Yeh sure I am." Jess rolled her eyes. "You know not everything is about getting with girls, you know."

Tristan smirked. "Isn't it?"

Jess just shook his head. "I'm heading home. I'm going to study with Rory for this test." He said.

"Want a lift?" Tristan asked.

"You have a car?" Jess asked.

"Yep. Got it for my birthday." He said.

"Lucky you." Jess said. He glanced over to the bus stop and saw a bus just pull off. He knew it would be ages til the next one. "Yeh ok. But this isn't a way to annoy Rory some more, got it?"

"Got it." He grinned.

* * *

"No Alice. I need that." Rory said taking the paper of notes from her. "Go and watch tv or something."

"But I want to play!" Alice whined.

"I need to study." Rory said. She then heard the door open.

"Rory?" Jess called.

"Kitchen!" She called back. She looked up and saw that Tristan was with him as well. "I need to study." She said.

"Look, I just gave Jess a lift back. I'm not here to stop you studying or anything." Tristan said. "I could always help if you want? I've brought my notes for the test." He said taking them out of his bag.

Rory looked up at him. "I'm fine." She said shortly.

"Ok." Tristan said.

Rory sighed. "Look, if you want to do something useful, entertain Alice for me."

"Ok." Tristan said. He smiled at Alice. "What do you like doing?"

"Playing with my plastic horses." Alice said. "Will you play with me?"

Jess chuckled and even Rory tried to hide her smirk.

"Yeh ok, let's play." Tristan said shooting Jess a look.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lorelai had headed to the school for Parents' day. She got there late and snuck in and took a seat while she listened to this man talk to them about some tests. When she started asking some questions, the other parents started to turn on her and brought up the scrunchie debate so the man called for a break.

Lorelai huffed and got up and went to the front.

"What were you going to do? Hit him?" Max joked.

"Maybe." Lorelai said.

"So you're Rory's mom right?" He asked.

"How did you know that?" She asked.

"Well I knew you were new and I knew Rory was new so I just guessed." He said.

"Oh right. Yeh I am. And Jess'." She smiled.

"Oh really?" Max said surprised.

"Yeh, well technically." Lorelai smiled.

Max couldn't help but feel attracted to her. "Well they're both great students."

"Thank you." Lorelai smiled.

"I hope Rory wasn't too upset about the D." He said.

"Wait, what? Rory got a D?" Lorelai asked.

"She didn't tell you?"

"No." Lorelai said. "Um I should go."

"Oh ok. Well maybe I'll see you around." He said hopefully.

"Yeh maybe." She said distracted and quickly left to drive home.

When she got home she came into the living to find a blonde haired boy playing horses with Alice. "Uh hi, random boy I don't know..." She said.

"Mommy!" Alice beamed and ran to her and hugged her. "Mommy, this is Tristan. He's playing horses with me!"

"I can see that..." Lorelai said.

Jess then came down the hallway from the kitchen. "Hey. Sorry, this is Tristan. He's a friend from school. Rory and I wanted to study a bit so he offered to distract Alice for us."

"Oh ok." Lorelai said. "Well it's nice to meet you Tristan." She smiled. "Well Luke should be back soon..." She said.

"Which is probably your cue to leave." Jess smirked at Tristan.

"Ok..." Tristan said confused. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeh see ya." Jess smiled. He then looked at Lorelai. "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"Well I'm assuming you went to Parents' day." He said.

Lorelai sighed. "Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't you tell me?"

"She wanted to fix it by herself." Jess said. "We've got a test Friday morning. She wants to do well in it."

Lorelai sighed. "Did she think I'd be mad or something? I just want to help."

Jess shrugged. "Look, I'll take this one if you want to go talk to her." He said gesturing to Alice.

"Ok thanks." Lorelai said and headed to the kitchen.

That night and all the nights leading up to Friday, they all studied for the test. Both Luke and Lorelai took it in turns to test them and by the end of the week, they knew pretty much all of it.

* * *

Friday morning, Rory walked out of the classroom with a big smile on her face. "That was good, right?" She asked Jess. "I mean it was everything we studied."

"Yeh it wasn't bad." Jess said. "You feeling better?"

Rory nodded. "Thanks for putting up with me all week."

"What are brothers for?" He said.

Rory grinned.

Tristan then came up to them. "Someone's looking happier."

"Yep and even you can't bring my mood down." Rory said.

"Good to know." Tristan said.

"We're going to get some food now for our snack. You want to come with us?" Rory asked.

Tristan was surprised. "Really?"

"Well I do have photos of you playing with plastic horses." Rory smirked.

"You didn't?" Tristan said.

"Yep!" Rory grinned. "But seriously, I did appreciate you distracting Alice. It's always hard to study when it's just me and her."

"Oh it's nothing. I enjoyed it." Tristan shrugged.

"So you coming?" Rory asked.

"Sure I'll come." He smiled.

The three of them then headed off to the canteen together.

 **So what do you think? I know it's a bit teen focussed at the moment but the first few eps were. I promise there will be more Luke and Lorelai soon! :) Please review and let me know what you think! :) Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for your reviews so far! Here's another chapter! :)**

Chapter 4

Lorelai was sat in the kitchen drinking coffee waiting for Jess and Rory to get ready for school listening to the music blaring out of Rory's room. Jess came down first and grabbed a pop tart to eat before Rory came out. "Finally!" She exclaimed. "Turn the music off and let's motor." She said.

"That's not me." Rory said, opening the door to find Lane.

"Where does your mom think you are?" Lorelai asked.

"Um sat on a bench contemplating the reunification of the two Koreas, probably." She said, turning off the music.

"Not here skanking to Rancid?"

"Wouldn't be included." Lane said.

"School!" Lorelai said. "You too missy." She said taking Alice's hand.

They left the house and Lane ran off to get to Stars Hollow High. They then bumped into Babette and Morey pulling a trailer with Cinnamon in it.

"Cinnamon!" Alice beamed and ran over and started petting her.

"Oh hiya hon!" Babette smiled.

"Cinnamon's travelling in style now." Rory said.

"Oh yeh, we thought since she's getting older we would make sure she was comfy." Babette said.

"Nice." Rory smiled.

* * *

Later that day, while Rory went to see Lane after school, Jess went back to the house with Tristan as they agreed to hang out. Jess stopped when he saw an animal hospital van outside Babette's house. "Oh crap..." He said.

"What?" Tristan asked.

"This isn't good. Cinnamon..." Jess said.

"Who's Cinnamon?" Tristan asked totally confused.

"Our next door neighbour's cat. Alice loved that cat. We knew she was getting old but not this..." Jess said. "We need to find my mom...Come on!" He said rushing off to search for her. He headed to Luke's first and was relieved to find her in there with Sookie. "Mom!" He said rushing in.

"Hey!" Lorelai smiled. She then saw his face. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Alice?" Jess asked looking round.

"Upstairs, why?" She asked.

"It's Cinnamon. There was an animal hospital van outside Babette's." Jess said.

"Oh no..." Lorelai said. She turned to find Luke. "Luke!" She called.

He came out of the kitchen. "What?"

"It's Cinnamon. We need to get Alice." She said.

"Oh. Yeh." He said understanding.

They got Alice and then walked over to Babette's meeting up with Rory on the way. Lorelai glanced at Luke when they saw the animal hospital van outside.

"What's going on?" Alice asked. "Why are we going to Babette's? Are we going to see Cinnamon?"

They all exchanged glances and Luke got down on the floor infront of Alice. "You know how Cinnamon was very old, right?" He said gently.

Alice nodded.

"And when animals get old, they gradually end up going to heaven..." Luke said. "Like my parents.."

Alice nodded slowly but tears started to prick her eyes. "Has Cinnamon gone to heaven?" She sniffed.

"She has, I'm sorry sweetheart. I know how much you loved her." Luke said gently.

Alice wiped some of her tears away.

"Now you don't need to go in if you don't want to. If it will make you sad." He said. "Cinnamon might still be in there.."

Alice sniffed. "I..I don't want to go in..." She said quietly.

"That's fine. You can go sit down over there." He said pointing to a couple of chairs in Babette's garden. "Come here." He said gently holding his arms out.

Alice went over and hugged him. "Will Babette be mad if I don't go in?" She asked quietly.

"No sweetheart, she won't. They'll understand." Luke said gently. "Are you going to be ok?"

Alice nodded and went over to the chairs, wiping her tears.

"Come on hon, let's give her a minute." Lorelai said to Luke. "We should go in."

Luke just nodded and stood back up.

"Well done. You were great." Lorelai gave him a small smile.

Luke sighed. "She's still upset."

"That's natural. She loved that cat." Lorelai said. "Come on."

Jess and Rory followed them in but Rory noticed Tristan trailing behind and then she saw him stop and slowly walk over to Alice. She slowly went back down and stood a bit away from them.

Tristan went over to Alice and sat down next to her. "You ok?" He asked.

"I'm sad..." She sniffed.

Tristan nodded. "You know Cinnamon has gone to a fun place. There will be a lot of cats for her to play with. She'll be happy." He said.

Alice looked up at him. "Really?" She asked.

Tristan smiled. "I bet she's met my cat."

"Your cat?" She asked.

"Yeh I used to have a cat just like Cinnamon but she's gone to the fun place as well now. I bet her and Cinnamon are already best of friends."

Alice smiled a little.

"Cinnamon wouldn't want you being upset." Tristan smiled.

Alice looked up when she heard movement. "Rory!" She said. "Tristan says Cinnamon's gone to a fun place. And that she's having fun and is happy. Is that true?" She asked.

Rory glanced at Tristan who sort of looked embarrassed that he'd been caught. She then smiled at Alice. "Yeh that's true."

Alice looked up at the house. "Should I go and tell Babette and Morey that? Will it help them to know?"

Rory smiled at her sister's thoughtfulness. "I think they would love to know that."

Alice got up and went up to the house slowly and disappeared inside. Rory looked at Tristan. "Thanks." She said.

Tristan shrugged. "I was a bit older than her when I lost my cat. That's what my mom told me and it helped make me feel better."

Rory smiled and slowly walked over and sat down next to him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alice went inside the house. "Cinnamon's gone to a fun place where there's lots of cats to play with and she's happy." She said. "Tristan told me. He said Cinnamon wouldn't want us being upset." She insisted going up to Babette.

Babette gave her a watery smile. "Well I'm sure that's true. She is happy, darling."

Alice went over to Luke and reached for his hand. "Are your parents in the same place as Cinnamon? A happy place?" She asked.

Luke felt a lump in his throat and looked down at his daughter. He gave her a small smile. "Yeh. Yeh they are."

Rory and Tristan looked up when everyone came out. Alice ran over to them. "We're having a party to celebrate Cinnamon. Will you come?" She asked Tristan.

"Oh well...uh..." Tristan said, glancing at Rory.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeh come." She said.

"I'll be there." He smiled at Alice.

Alice smiled at him and ran back over to Lorelai. Luke walked over to Rory and Tristan. "Tristan right?" He asked.

"Uh yes sir." Tristan said.

"Alice told us what you told her. Thanks." He said gruffly. "She seems a bit happier."

"Happy to help." Tristan said genuinely.

Luke just nodded and then walked off to the others.

"Wow you just got the Luke approval." Jess smirked joining them. "That's big."

"Really?" Tristan asked.

"Oh yeh, he's very hard to please." Rory smirked and ran off to see Babette and Morey.

* * *

That evening, the wake was held at Babette and Morey's. Rory heard a knock at the door and as she was closest to it, she went to open it. She saw a brown, floppy haired boy come in with a crate of drinks. "Oh hi..." He said.

"Hi.." Rory said awkwardly.

"I was told to bring these here." He said.

"Oh thanks. You can put them in there." She said.

"Ok." He smiled at her and went into the other room. He returned a bit later to leave. "I'm Dean by the way." He said.

"Uh Rory." Rory said.

"Nice to meet you." He smiled.

"You too." Rory said and watched him leave. Just as he left, Tristan came in. Rory smirked. "You came." She said.

"I promised Alice." He said.

Rory grinned. "She's already got you under her thumb."

"She's a cute kid." Tristan smiled.

"Yeh she's great." Rory smiled. She stood there awkwardly for a bit. "Well come on in. Jess and Alice are through here." She said.

Tristan followed her through. "Is it me or do I have a feeling you're thawing to me?" He smirked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "So you're nice to my sister. Doesn't mean I still don't think you're the most annoying person at school."

Tristan grinned. "But that just makes it fun, doesn't it?"

"You think too much of yourself." Rory said.

"Better than thinking too little of myself." He smirked.

"How is it that you can turn from being a nice guy to a jerk in like a minute?" Rory asked.

Tristan shrugged. "Have to mix it up a bit or people will think I'm too boring. It would ruin my rep." He joked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Come on. Alice has been waiting for you." She said leading him over to them.

Tristan smirked but didn't say anything else. He followed her over to where Jess and Alice were standing.

"Are you two friends now?" Alice asked seeing them.

Tristan chuckled. "I'm working on it." He said.

Rory just shook her head but she felt her cheeks go a bit hot. She caught Tristan's eye who was smirking at her but she just looked away quickly. _What was going on? This guy was the most infuriating guy she met! So why was she feeling like this?_ She managed to distract herself when Morey started playing piano but she could feel Tristan's eyes on her.

 **Hope you liked it! Review and let me know! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your reviews! Thought I'd treat you to a third chapter tonight! ;)**

Chapter 5

"So is this party at Grandma and Grandpa's going to be a big deal?" Rory asked.

"Nah there'll just be a string orchestra and canapés." Lorelai joked.

"Great." Rory said sarcastically.

"It'll be fine." Luke assured her. "They just want to celebrate you. They probably won't invite that many people."

Rory nodded.

"Yeh and then we can do it right on Saturday." Lorelai smiled.

"Cool." Rory smiled. "I'm going to head to my room. I've got some studying to do before going to bed."

"Ok hon. Night." Lorelai smiled.

"Night." Rory said giving her a kiss on the cheek and then doing the same to Luke.

"Night Rory." Luke said.

"I think I'll do the same." Jess said. "Come on you, let's get you to bed." He said, picking up Alice.

"But I'm not tired!" Alice whined.

"Well how about I read you a story first?" Jess compromised.

"Ok!" Alice said happily.

Lorelai and Luke smiled as they watched them go upstairs. "He's so good with her." Lorelai said.

"Yeh." Luke smiled.

They both sat down on the couch and Lorelai turned on the tv. "It's been a while since we've done this." Lorelai smiled cuddling up to him.

"Yeh. We've been so busy lately." Luke said putting his arm round her.

"I can't believe Rory's going to be 16 next week. Feels like yesterday since I came to Stars Hollow with a bundle of blankets." Lorelai said.

Luke smiled. "Yeh it's crazy."

"We finally got it." Lorelai said. "A proper family."

"Feels pretty good, doesn't it?" Luke said.

"Feels great." Lorelai smiled.

* * *

Monday morning, Rory was getting something out of her locker when Tristan came up to her. "Happy Birthday." He said.

"It's not my birthday." Rory said confused.

"No but it will be. On October 8th..." He read out his invitation.

"Give me that." Rory said taking it. "I can't believe this! Who else got these?"

"I don't know. The whole class I think." He said.

"Great. Just great." She muttered.

"I'm guessing you had no idea about it." He said.

"Well done Sherlock." She said sarcastically.

"No need to bite me head off!" He said putting his hands up in mock surrender.

"I haven't got time for this." Rory said, storming off.

"What did you say this time?" Jess asked coming up.

"Nothing. But I think she was upset about this." Tristan said, handing Jess the invitation.

Jess read it. "Great. Just what she needs..." He muttered. "She hates being the centre of attention and now they're going to make sure she is infront of all these people she barely knows."

"Sorry..." Tristan said.

Jess sighed. "It's not your fault. At least she knows about it now instead of it being a huge surprise. I better go find her. See you later."

"Yeh see you." Tristan said watching him go and thinking.

* * *

Friday soon came and Rory woke up and started getting dressed for school. She then went out to the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone shouted.

Rory laughed. "How long have you been waiting to do that?"

"About an hour." Lorelai grinned. "Happy birthday hon!"

"Thanks mom." Rory smiled and gave her a hug.

"Made you your birthday special." Luke smiled giving her a one armed hug.

"A coffee cake." Rory smiled. "Thanks!"

"I got you a card!" Alice beamed running up to her and holding an envelope out to her.

Rory smiled and opened it. "Aw thanks Alice. It's lovely!" She said giving her a hug.

"You'll get mine later." Jess smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." She smiled giving him a hug.

"Now let's eat!" Lorelai grinned.

"Oh I see why you've been up for an hour already. It was because of the cake." Rory laughed.

"It's a coffee cake! It's like my idea of heaven!" Lorelai grinned.

Rory rolled her eyes but started cutting slices for everyone.

* * *

That evening, they were all at the Gilmore Mansion and the party was in full swing. After having a very awkward encounter in the library with classmates who didn't even want to be there, she then bumped into Paris which was even more fun. She escaped into the foyer when the front door opened and Tristan came in.

"And it just keeps getting better." Rory said sarcastically.

"Happy birthday!" Tristan grinned.

"Yeh thanks." Rory mumbled.

"You don't seem like someone who's turned 16 today. You should be celebrating." He smirked.

"I'll do that tomorrow when I'm actually surrounded by people who like me." Rory said.

"I like you." Tristan said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeh you like annoying me." She said.

"If I just liked that, would I have gotten you a present?" He raised his eyebrows, holding out a bag.

"You got me a present?" She asked surprised.

"Well it is your birthday." He said.

Rory slowly took the bag and looked inside. She was surprised to see a pretty silver bracelet with a book charm on it. "Tristan..." She said.

"I know you like reading but I don't really know much more. Otherwise I would have got you some more charms." He said. "It's not much." He shrugged.

Rory looked up at him. "Thank you." She said quietly.

"You're welcome." He said.

She was about to say something when Emily came into the foyer. "There you are! It's time for the speech." She said.

"The what?" Rory said panicked.

"The speech, Rory. It's your party. You have to thank everyone for coming." She said pulling her into the other room.

Tristan saw her panicked expression and followed them. He went and stood next to Jess and saw Emily clink her glass to get quiet.

"The birthday girl would just like to say a few words." Emily smiled sweetly. "Go ahead." She said to Rory.

"Uh oh..." Jess said as he saw Rory look like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He looked over at Luke and Lorelai who looked concerned.

"Rory..." Emily prompted.

"We have to do something..." Jess muttered to Tristan.

Tristan saw a lot of their classmates start to snigger. Before he knew what he was doing he went up to Rory. "May I?" He asked.

Rory looked at him surprised but nodded.

"I know it's tradition for the hostess to say something but I feel like we should break tradition once in a while." He said. "So..uh...I'm sure Rory would like to thank you all for coming. I know I haven't really known her very long but I already know that she's a great person. So let's raise our glasses and enjoy celebrating her birthday." He said raising his glass.

Everyone did the same and then talking filled up the room again. He let out a breath.

"Why...Why did you do that?" Rory asked him.

"I know this isn't really your thing. I thought I'd help you out. Make up for the times when I annoyed you." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Thank you." She said gratefully.

The rest of the evening was a little better but Emily was annoyed that Rory hadn't made the speech herself. When Rory tried to make a peace offering and invited both her and her Grandpa to her party the next day, she made an excuse that they already had plans. Lorelai sent them out to the car with Alice and Rory knew there was going to be another argument. They went outside and as they made their way to the car, Rory spotted Tristan by the gates. "I'll be right back." She told Jess. She then walked over to him. "I thought you'd left already." She said.

"I'm not really in a rush." Tristan said.

Rory was quiet for a minute. "Thank you for saving me tonight." She said sincerely.

"Oh it's fine." He waved it off.

"No, it was." She said. "Um, my parents are throwing a party for me tomorrow at our house. Would you like to come?" She asked.

Tristan was surprised. "Uh yeh ok..." He said.

Rory gave him a smile and then headed back to the car. Lorelai and Luke came out shortly and he watched them drive off.

* * *

The next evening, Rory was feeling much more comfortable in their house surrounded by all the townspeople. Tristan walked in and heard Luke and Lorelai arguing in the kitchen and then Alice ran past her. Jess came up to him. "Hey, you made it."

"Yeh." Tristan said. "What's going on with them?" He said gesturing to the kitchen.

Jess smirked. "Our mom thought it was a good thing to load Alice up with sweets. Alice is now on a sugar high."

Tristan chuckled. "Uh oh.."

"Yeh and Luke's not happy." Jess smirked.

"It sounds bad." Tristan said hearing them in the kitchen.

"Nah, they do it the whole time. Luke will give up in a bit." Jess smirked. "Come on in, Rory's in here."

Tristan followed him in and saw Rory talking to an Asian girl about their age.

"Look who made it." Jess said going up to them.

"Oh hey!" Rory said.

"Hey." He said.

"Oh Tristan, this is my best friend Lane. Lane this is Tristan. He goes to school with us." Rory introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Tristan smiled at Lane.

"Yeh you too." Lane smiled.

Alice then came running through them.

"Whoa slow down there, tiger." Rory laughed.

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Because you're going to pass out in a bit." Rory said. "Just take a breath."

* * *

The party went well. Rory opened her presents and then Sookie brought in the cake. Emily and Richard arrived as well which made Rory happy. A food fight then broke out, much to Luke's dismay, which included Rory throwing a cupcake which hit Tristan in the face.

"Hey!" He said.

Rory grinned. "Call that payback!" She said.

Tristan smirked and picked up another cupcake.

"Oh no you don't!" Rory said and tried to dodge behind Jess but Jess ducked and it hit Rory. "I'm the birthday girl! You're not supposed to get the birthday girl!"

Tristan grinned. "Call that payback." He smirked.

After the food fight, everyone started to leave. Luke, Lorelai, Rory and Jess all cleaned up the kitchen before going into the living room where they found out Alice passed out on the couch. Lorelai, Jess and Rory all burst out laughing and even Luke smirked.

"Guess it finally got too much for her." Jess smirked.

"This is because of all the sweets you gave her." Luke said to Lorelai.

"It was a party." Lorelai defended herself. "She had fun. You have to admit she had fun."

"Yeh I guess." Luke grudgingly agreed.

"Don't worry, you can turn her back into your healthy freak tomorrow." Lorelai smirked.

"Deal." Luke said.

"Thanks for the party mom. It was great." Rory smiled. "I'm exhausted now. Think I might head to bed."

"Ok hon. I'm glad you had fun." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeh I did. Night."

"Night." Lorelai smiled.

"Night Rory." Luke smiled.

Jess headed upstairs as well so Luke and Lorelai sat down on the couch, careful not to wake up Alice.

"Hey, would you want any more kids?" Lorelai suddenly asked.

"What?" Luke asked surprised.

"It's just...seeing Alice like that. We made her. She's amazing, isn't she?" Lorelai smiled looking over at her sleeping daughter.

Luke smiled. "Yeh she is."

"I mean you probably haven't thought about it but, it might be nice for Alice." Lorelai smiled.

Luke looked over at Lorelai. "Would you like another one?"

"I think I might." She admitted. "I know it would be a lot of work again but remember how amazing it was. All the firsts. Watching them grow up."

Luke smiled at the memories. "It was pretty cool." He admitted. He smiled over at Lorelai. "It might be nice to have another one."

Lorelai smiled and snuggled into him. "Well we don't have to make any decisions now. It was a fun day, wasn't it?"

"Yeh it was. Rory enjoyed it." He said. He was quiet for a moment before he looked over at her. "What do you know about Tristan?" He asked.

Lorelai smirked. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Please keep the reviews coming! I love hearing from you! Thanks! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all your lovely comments! :) I really do appreciate them. Here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 6

A couple of weeks had passed since the party. Luke was in the kitchen making some breakfast with Alice watching when Rory and Jess came in, ready for school.

"Mom not up yet?" Rory asked.

"No, she's going in a bit later today." Luke said. "Hey, can I ask you two a favour?"

"Sure." Rory smiled.

"Could you possibly watch Alice this evening?" He asked. "I'd like to take your mom out for dinner."

"Aw that's sweet." Rory grinned. "Any particular reason?" She asked.

"It's sort of an anniversary." Luke admitted.

"Not your wedding." Jess said.

"No, but it's been 7 years since we went on our first date." Luke smiled.

"Oh my god it has!" Rory grinned. "It was soon after my 9th birthday. It was at the inn, remember?"

"Yeh I remember." He smiled.

"We'll watch Alice, don't worry." She smiled. Jess nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Can we play games all evening?" Alice asked excitedly.

Jess smirked. "Maybe. If you're good."

"I'll be good all day, I promise!" Alice insisted.

Rory laughed. "Come on you, we'll all be late if we don't go now. See you later!" She said to Luke.

"Have a good day." He smiled. "Hey you, come give your daddy a kiss." He said to Alice.

Alice grinned and ran and jumped into his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Have a fun day. Love you." He said.

"Love you too daddy!" She said and jumped back down and then left with Rory and Jess.

* * *

Rory and Jess were at their lockers when Kate appeared next to Jess and opened the locker next to his. Jess looked over. "What are the chances?" He smirked.

"You know, I'm getting kind of worried that you're stalking me." She said.

"Could say the same to you." He said.

"Do you not have another line?" She asked.

Jess shrugged. "It works every time."

Kate rolled her eyes. "It's starting to get boring."

"Who, me? Never." He smirked.

Meanwhile, Tristan walked up and stood next to Rory. "What's going on over there?" He asked.

"I think a little love story." Rory smirked.

"Really?" Tristan chuckled.

"They keep randomly bumping into each other. Coincidence or not?" Rory joked.

"Well we keep bumping into each other. Is that not a coincidence?" He smirked.

"No because you keep deliberately coming up to me." Rory pointed out.

"Same thing." Tristan shrugged.

"You won't give up, will you?" Rory said.

"Nope!" He grinned.

Rory just shook her head. "I've got to get to class." She said.

"Since Jess is somewhat preoccupied, how about I walk you to class? We both have English right?" He tried.

Rory sighed. "Fine."

* * *

In the class, Mr Medina set them an assignment in groups. Jess, Rory, Tristan and Kate were all put in the same group. When the class finished they all walked outside and gathered.

"So I guess we should organise when to meet?" Kate said.

"What about tonight?" Jess suggested.

"We're meant to be babysitting Alice." Rory pointed out.

"Hang on, are you two related?" Kate asked confused.

"Oh sorry. Kate, Rory. Rory, Kate. Rory's my sister." Jess said.

"Oh." Kate said surprised. "Hey."

"Hey." Rory said.

"So tonight?" Tristan said.

"We can't." Rory said.

"Why not?" Jess said. "Alice loves Tristan anyway." He pointed out. "She won't mind. And mom and Luke won't if we tell them we have to sort out this assignment."

"I guess.." Rory said.

"So meet you outside after school and we can all take the bus?" Jess suggested. When everyone nodded their agreement, they headed off to their next class.

* * *

After school, they all went back to the Crap Shack, collecting Alice on the way. They found Lorelai there already.

"Mommy!" Alice said and ran up and gave her a hug.

"Hey sweets!" Lorelai smiled. "How was school?"

"Good! We painted today! I made you a painting!" Alice beamed proudly holding it out to her.

"Aw that's lovely! We can stick that on the fridge." Lorelai smiled. She then looked over and saw there were two more people than there should have been. "Have you been multiplied?" She joked.

"We've all been put together for this school assignment. Is it ok if we start it tonight? We'll stay in and still watch Alice." Rory said.

"Oh yeh that's fine." Lorelai said. She then looked at them suspiciously. "Do either of you know where Luke is taking me tonight?" She asked.

"No idea." Rory said.

"Nope." Jess said.

"And if you did?" Lorelai asked.

"We wouldn't tell you." Rory grinned.

"Spoilsport." Lorelai pouted.

"Mom, he wants to surprise you. It's nice." She said.

"Yeh I know..." Lorelai said.

* * *

Luke came and picked Lorelai up after he'd closed the diner and took her out. Meanwhile, the four teenagers were sat in the living room while Alice played with some of her toys.

"So we should split it up." Jess said. "How about Kate and I do this bit and you and Tristan work on that bit?" He said pointing to the two parts of the question they had to answer.

Rory knew this was his way to spend more time with Kate but it also meant that she had to spend time with Tristan. She saw his hopeful face though and sighed. "Yeh ok."

As they started working, Jess and Kate starting arguing again, this time about how to approach it.

"Let's go in the kitchen." Rory said not being able to concentrate.

"Sure." Tristan said and followed her in.

Jess smirked when he saw them walk off. "About time." He said.

"What?" Kate said confused as to why he had suddenly changed subject.

"Tristan and Rory." Jess said.

"What about them?" She asked.

"Getting them in one room together is hard. I mean haven't you noticed?" He said.

"What, about Tristan liking your sister? Yeh the whole school knows about it. It's top news because Tristan's never focused on one girl for so long before. He must really like her." Kate said.

"He hasn't?" Jess asked.

"Nope. He's pretty much known as the King of Chilton. All the girls fawn over him. He's never had a proper girlfriend before and he's never wanted one really but Rory's obviously changed him." She said.

Jess started feeling a bit worried. "How do you know Rory isn't just one of those girls?" He asked.

Kate shrugged. "Tristan wouldn't be trying this hard if he didn't genuinely like her. He would have given up ages ago."

"Really?" He asked.

Kate saw his worried expression. "Don't worry. He won't mess her around."

Jess just nodded and went back to the work.

Kate glanced at him and for the first time took in his appearance. "You really care about your sister, don't you?" She asked.

"She's my best friend. She's my sister. I want her to be happy." Jess said.

"It's nice that she's got you watching out for her." She said.

Jess looked up at her. "Did you just pay me a compliment?"

Kate smirked. "Maybe."

"Wow." Jess said.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Rory and Tristan were sat in silence working on the question. Rory glanced up at him. "You know I've had several girls come up to me at school and warn me off you..." She said.

Tristan looked up. "Warn you off?"

"Yep. They seem to think we're dating. Of course I told them we weren't but they still warned me off." She shrugged.

"Yeh well the girls at Chilton seem to get a bit..." Tristan started saying.

"Possessive?" Rory smirked. "You've got quite a reputation."

"Yeh well, that was before." He shrugged.

"Before what?" Rory asked.

"Before I met you." Tristan said nonchalantly.

Rory looked up at him in surprise at the blunt way he said that. "Tristan..." She said.

He shrugged. "I thought it was obvious." He said. "Why do you think I've been bothering you all the time?"

"Because you love it." Rory said.

"Well it is kind of fun sometimes." Tristan smirked.

Rory just shook her head. "I never know when you're being sincere or not. Sometimes you can be nice like at my birthday and then you revel in winding me up and being a jerk." She said annoyed.

Tristan looked up at her. "Sorry." He said.

Rory couldn't help but smirk.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. It's just I can't believe I actually got Tristan Dugrey to say sorry." She smirked.

"Well don't get used to it." He said. "So how do you feel then? I kind of get mixed feelings from you." He said.

"Let's get back to work." Rory said avoiding the question.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke had taken Lorelai to Sniffy's. They had greeted Maisy and Buddy and were sat in a booth waiting for their food.

"So are you going to tell me what this is about?" Lorelai asked.

"Do you remember what happened exactly 7 years ago?" He asked.

"Uh..." Lorelai tried to think. She then smiled. "We went on our first date."

"Yep." Luke smiled.

"Best first date I'd ever had." Lorelai smiled.

"Likewise." He smiled.

They both sat for a minute just remembering it.

"How do you think Jess and Rory are doing?" Luke asked a minute later.

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, no kids talk. Isn't this meant to be a date?" She grinned.

"I know. I just...they're there with Tristan and this girl. Do we even know anything about this girl?" He asked.

Lorelai smiled at his concern. "Stop worrying Luke. Alice is there. Nothing is going to happen when she's there. Jess and Rory are responsible. They'll be working on the school assignment."

Luke sighed. "Yeh I know. It's just..."

"They're growing up. Yeh I know." Lorelai said. "It was always going to happen. It's hard for me too."

"Sorry." Luke said. "You're right. This is a date. I want you to have a nice time."

Lorelai smiled. She reached over and put her hand on his. "I'll always have a nice time with you. You're the love of my life." She said sincerely.

Luke smiled. "Same."

"So I was thinking..." Lorelai grinned.

"Never a good start..." Luke smirked.

"Hey!" She said indignantly. Luke chuckled. "Anyway, I was thinking, the first snow of the year is scheduled to come soon. We need our family midnight walk with doughnuts and coffee."

Luke groaned. "We do that every year.."

"That's why it's a tradition! Just remember last year. Rory and Jess having a snowball fight. Alice asleep in your arms. It was fun." She said.

He had to smile at that memory. "Yeh alright, it wasn't the worst thing in the world but if you ever tell anyone in this crazy town that, there will be no more snow walks." He warned.

"Deal!" Lorelai grinned. "Our little secret."

Their food soon arrived and Lorelai smiled, looking around. "This is nice. Thank you for taking me out. We don't get to do this much anymore." She said.

"Let's make a toast." Luke said holding up his glass. Lorelai grinned and held hers up. "Here's to us. 7 years since we had our first date. 6 years since we got married. And here's to our family who we wouldn't change for the world." He smiled.

"Amen." Lorelai smiled.

* * *

Later that evening, Tristan and Kate had left and Lorelai and Luke had come back and were putting Alice to bed. The doorbell rang and Rory went to answer it. She found Tristan standing on the porch. "Did you forget something?" She asked.

"Yep." He said, taking hold of her hands and gently pulling her outside.

"Tristan, what are you doing?" Rory asked.

"What I've been wanting to do for ages." He said. He then leaned forward and gently kissed her on lips.

When Tristan pulled away, Rory stood there not knowing what to do. "Uh...thanks..." She stammered. "Uh..see you at school..." She said quickly and rushed inside. She shut the door and closed her eyes. _What the hell just happened?_

 **Hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I really do appreciate all the reviews so please keep them coming! :)**

Chapter 7

"I feel so stupid! Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to kiss me?" Rory exclaimed as she walked along the street with Jess on the way to the bookshop.

"Maybe because he likes you." Jess said.

"Jess, I'm being serious!" Rory said.

"So am I!" He chuckled.

Rory sighed. "I just ran back into the house..."

Jess was about to joke again but then he saw Rory's face. He sighed. "Look, do you like him?" He asked.

Rory looked at him. "I don't know..." She admitted. "I mean sometimes he can be really nice and sweet but then other times he can be a real jerk. He's so infuriating!"

"Well if it makes any difference, I think he genuinely likes you." Jess said.

"How do you know that? How do you know I'm not just one of the girls on a big list for him?" She said.

"I don't." He admitted. "But you forget Tristan and I are actually friends. I've seen the way he looks at you. I've also heard things. Apparently everyone's surprised at how he's changed. Kate said that if he wasn't bothered, he would have given up ages ago." He said.

"I don't know what to do." Rory groaned.

"Rory..." A voice said from behind them.

Rory turned round and froze. "Wha...What are you doing here?" She stammered.

"Stay away from her!" Jess said protectively.

"I don't want to cause any trouble. I just wanted to see you. You know your mom removed the restraining order against me a few years ago, right?" Chris said.

"We thought you wouldn't get in touch again. It had been a couple of years and we hadn't heard from you." Rory said quietly. "Why are you back now?"

"I wanted to see you. I'm your dad." He said.

"Luke's my dad." Rory said. "I don't want to talk to you. You'll ruin everything again! I've got Luke. I don't need you."

"I know." Chris said quietly.

Rory was shocked. "What?" She said.

Chris sighed. "I was a mess back then. I was in a bad place. I want to make amends. You're still my daughter."

Rory shook her head. "You only want mom. You've only ever wanted mom! You don't care about me."

"I do, Rory. Why do you think I didn't fight the court when Luke was wanting to adopt you?" He said. "I knew deep down that he'd be a better dad to you. I'm so sorry, Rory. For everything." He said.

Rory didn't know what to think. "I can't cope with this right now. I just can't." She said and ran off.

Jess glared at Chris before running after her. "Rory wait! Wait up!" He shouted catching up with her. "Where are you going?"

"The inn." She said. "I need mom. I need to talk to her."

"I'll come with you." He said.

Rory shook her head. "Go find dad, I mean Luke, I mean dad...urghh I don't even know what to say now!"

"Just stop for a minute. Take a breath." Jess said.

Rory stopped and took a deep breath. "You need to go warn Luke that's he's back. Please." She said. "He should know. I need to talk to mom."

Jess nodded. "You going to be ok?"

"I just need to talk to mom." She said quietly.

Jess nodded understanding. "Come find me if you need me, ok?"

Rory nodded. "Thanks."

He gave her a small smile before leaving. Rory then rushed off to the inn. She ran up to the desk. "Michel, where's mom?" She asked.

"How should I know?" He replied.

"Please Michel! This is important. Where is she?" Rory asked close to tears.

Michel noticed this and was a bit taken aback. "Kitchen." He said.

Rory ran through to the kitchen. "Mom!" She said.

"Rory?" Lorelai said confused. She then noticed her tears. "Rory, what's wrong?" She asked concerned.

"He's back." Rory said. "I don't know what to do. He's saying he's sorry and he wants to make amends but I've got Luke. I don't need him!" She said in a state.

Lorelai led her out and went into an empty room. "Ok slow down. Who's back?" She asked.

"Dad, I mean Chris. See I don't even know what to call him! My mind's so messed up!"

"Ok calm down." Lorelai said sitting her down. She took a deep breath. "Your dad's back?" She asked softly, trying to hide her surprise.

"Luke's my dad." Rory said quietly.

"Ok, so Chris is back?" She asked.

Rory nodded. "I just saw him. In the street." She said. "He started saying how he wants to make amends and how he was a mess back then and that I was still his daughter and he wanted to see me." She said quietly. "Why? Why is he back now?"

"Oh hon..." Lorelai said softly.

"And Tristan kissed me! My mind was already messed up by that and then he turned up!" Rory blurted out.

"Whoa, slow down. Tristan kissed you?" Lorelai said surprised, trying to take everything in.

Rory let out a big breath. "Yeh. When we were working on that school project. I managed to avoid him yesterday at school but I don't know what to do." She said. She looked up at her mom. "Tell me what to do..." She said tearfully.

"Oh hon, come here." Lorelai said and hugged her close to her.

"I don't know what to do. I just...I don't know what to do." Rory said quietly.

"It's ok." Lorelai reassured her daughter, holding her close and comforting her.

After a few minutes, Rory calmed down a bit and she pulled away from the hug.

"Ok so let's talk this through ok?" Lorelai said.

Rory nodded.

"Firstly, with Tristan, I think you need to decide that yourself hon. Only you know if you like him that way. What I will tell you is to take your time and make sure you do what you want, not what others are telling you to do." She said.

Rory nodded slowly.

"Now your dad..." Lorelai said.

"Chris." Rory said quietly.

"Right, Chris. How do you feel about it?" She asked.

"I don't know." Rory said quietly. "He scared me when I was younger. He ripped my book and he tried to take me from the hospital."

"I know." Lorelai said softly, remembering the fear in her daughter.

"But he seemed genuine." She said quietly. "But then again he's pretty good at lying." She said.

"What do you want to do?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't want to upset Luke. He's my dad. He deserves that title. There's a reason I've been calling him that since I was 10." She said.

"Hon, Luke won't be angry if you want to talk to Chris. Like it or not, he is your biological dad. If you think he's genuine..." Lorelai said.

"I don't know..." Rory said. "I don't trust him."

"As much as I hate what Chris has made you feel in the past, I can't stop you if you want to talk to him. Maybe he has changed. Maybe he does want to make amends." She said.

"He tried to get custody of me when I was younger. What if he tries that again?" Rory asked worried.

"He won't." Lorelai said. "That was my mom pushing him to do that back then."

Rory let out a breath. "I guess I need to decide don't I?"

"Whatever you want to do, I'll support you." She said.

Rory hugged her. "I love you mom."

"I love you too."

* * *

Rory walked back to the square and saw Chris standing in the gazebo. She took a deep breath and walked up to him. "Hi.." She said quietly.

"Rory.." He said surprised.

"I'll hear you out." She said.

"Thank you. I really want to..." He started.

"Not here." Rory said glancing towards the diner. "This way."

Chris followed her towards the lake and watched as Rory got down and sat on the edge of the bridge. He cautiously sat down next to her.

"Why now? Why show up now?" Rory asked.

"I'm in a better place now. I've got a good job. I'm doing well." He said. He then sighed. "I know I've got a lot of things to make up for." He said.

"Too many to count." Rory said staring out across the lake.

"I know." He said looking ashamed. "I just...I didn't want my daughter to hate me. I needed to show you that guy who ripped your book wasn't really me. I was in a..."

"A bad place. Yeh you said." Rory said shortly. "Just because you were in a bad place doesn't excuse it. Do you know what it did to mom when you were going for custody of me? She wouldn't show it infront of me but I caught her crying herself to sleep. When she thought I was already asleep, she'd let it all out."

"I should never have done that." He said.

Rory looked at him annoyed. "You keep saying that! You keep saying that you shouldn't have done it and that you're sorry but how do I know you really are? Daughters are meant to feel loved by their dads but I was scared of you!" She exclaimed angrily. "I was terrified you'd show up and take me away from mom! I was 9!"

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I don't know what else to say."

"Luke's my dad. He deserves that title. He loves me and I love him. I feel like I'm betraying him just talking to you but I needed to. I've been holding this in too long. You were a rubbish dad! You always let me down, you never came to visit. You made me feel unwanted. I needed you. But you were too busy travelling the world to care about me." Rory said, furiously wiping the tears that appeared in her eyes. "I don't even know why I'm crying. You don't deserve my tears." She said angrily.

Chris stared into the water.

Rory took a deep breath. "I wanted you to be there. So many days I waited for you to call but you never did." She said quietly. "I thought maybe you'd suddenly turn up but you didn't. I really wanted you."

Chris turned to look at her. "I don't know what to say." He admitted. "Everything you've said is true. I was a rubbish dad."

Rory was quiet for a moment, taking a moment to regain her composure. She could feel herself shaking. She slowly got up. "I should get home." She said quietly.

Chris stood up as well. "I'm..uh..I've got a flat in Hartford. My new job is there." He said. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket. "This is my number." He said, handing it to her. "I really am sorry, Rory. For everything. I don't want my daughter to hate me. If you feel like you might want to talk, maybe in the future, that's my cell number. It's pretty permanent." He said.

"I should go." She said, taking the piece of paper and putting it in her pocket. "Bye."

* * *

Rory arrived home to find everyone in the living room.

"You talk to him?" Lorelai asked cautiously.

Rory nodded.

"I'm going to make some lunch." Luke said and got up and left the room.

"Are you ok?" Jess asked. "He didn't upset you?"

"I'm ok." Rory said. She glanced towards the kitchen. "I'm just going to see if he needs help." She said walking through to the kitchen. She found Luke making some pancake mix.

He looked up as she walked in. "Thought we might be in need of some pancakes." He said.

"You don't need to be a the diner?" Rory asked.

"Caesar said he'd cover for me today." Luke said.

Rory just nodded. She stood there for a minute. "You know you're my dad right? Nothing's going to change that. I'm always going to see you as my dad. When I'm upset or angry or worried about something and need my dad, I'll always come to you." She said quietly.

"Rory..." He said.

She shook her head. "You're my dad." She said firmly. "Biology doesn't matter. You're always going to be my dad." She insisted. "I love you." She said quietly.

Luke looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "I love you too."

Rory wiped a tear that threatened to fall.

"Come here." Luke said holding his arms out.

Rory went over and hugged him tightly. She felt his arms go round her and one hand ruffle her hair. She knew this was right. She felt safe. She pulled away slowly. "I need to make a phone call but I'll come out and help with the pancakes in a minute." She said.

"Ok." Luke nodded.

"I won't be long." She said. She then went into her room and got out her cell phone. She reached into her pocket and pulled the piece of paper out. She looked at it for a moment before suddenly ripping it up. "I don't need you." She muttered. "Too little, too late." She threw the shreds of paper in the bin under her desk. She then went and sat on her bed and scrolled through her contacts. She took a moment before dialling a number and putting her cell up to her ear. "Tristan?" She said.

 **So I know I brought Chris in a bit earlier than they did in the show but I thought it fit with Rory already being confused and messed up about Tristan. Hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for all your reviews! I know a lot of you having been asking about my other two stories and I am still going to continue them, maybe this weekend or next week. I've just been really busy recently and I wanted to at least keep one story going. So please stay with me and I'll try and update the others soon. Thanks! :) Also, I know I had a short appearance of Dean and for those asking, he may come into it later.**

Chapter 8

"Rory?" Tristan said through the phone. "I've been trying to call you. I've sent you messages."

"I know, I'm sorry." Rory said. "The kiss...uh...it surprised me and I needed to get my head around it. And then something really big happened today and it messed me up even more. Just...I'm sorry..." She said.

"Ok..." Tristan said not knowing what this meant. "So..."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Rory asked.

"I don't have any plans." Tristan said.

"Do you want to come to Stars Hollow?" She asked.

"Uh yeh I can do." He said feeling a bit more hopeful.

"Ok good. Meet me at the house? I'm watching Alice again as Jess is working at the diner." She said.

"Ok yeh I'll see you there." He smiled.

"Ok good. Well..uh..bye then." She said.

"Bye."

Rory hung up the phone and let out a big breath. She didn't really know what she was going to say to him but something about him did intrigue her.

* * *

The following day, Rory was playing with Alice when the doorbell rang. "Oh that'll be Tristan. Want to get it?" Rory said.

Alice beamed and got up and ran to the door. She opened it. "What's the password?" She giggled.

"Uh...please?" Tristan smirked.

"Nope!" Alice said. "You can't come in without the password!"

"Oh really?" Tristan chuckled and suddenly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, making her laugh. He shut the door and went into the living room. "I believe she belongs to you."

"Stop manhandling my sister." Rory joked.

Tristan chuckled and put her down. "Sorry. I had to or I could have been standing there for hours." He smirked.

Alice went back to playing with her toys while Rory and Tristan stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Uh so do you want to sit? Do you want a soda or something?" Rory asked.

"Nah I'm good thanks." Tristan said sitting down on the couch.

Rory sat next to him and they watched Alice make voices for her horses for a bit. Rory glanced over at him. "So...I guess we should talk..." She said.

Tristan nodded. "You first."

Rory nodded. "Um ok...well I need to admit I'm sort of new to this. I've not really, well I've never, had a boyfriend before." She said quietly.

"Ok..." Tristan said.

"I just...I know you've gone out with a lot of girls. Why choose me?" She asked. "How do I know I'm not just one on a list?"

"I guess I do have a bit of a reputation." He admitted.

"You guess?" Rory raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, I do." Tristan smirked. "But you're different. You're smarter than all the other girls put together. You're funny, you're kind. I like you. Genuinely." He said.

Rory looked at him and saw the sincerity in his face.

"Look, just tell me if you don't feel anything and I promise you I'll never hassle you again." He said.

"I can't." Rory admitted.

"Really?" Tristan asked hopefully.

"I just...I'm new to this. I don't really know how to act." She admitted.

"I'm not going to push you into anything if that's what you're worried about." He said. "We can take it as slow as you want but I would be a fool to let you go without a fight."

Rory felt herself blush a little. "Ok." She said quietly.

"Ok?" Tristan asked.

Rory smiled. "I do like you. I mean sometimes you annoy the hell out of me but I..I do like you." She admitted.

Tristan smiled and started leaning forward.

"Are you going to kiss?" Alice asked innocently looking up from her toys.

Rory started laughing.

"You've got great timing there, kid." Tristan chuckled.

"Come on." Rory said getting off the couch. "You keep playing ok?" She said to Alice.

"You're going to kiss!" Alice giggled.

Rory smirked but led Tristan down to the corridor. "I swear she never misses anything." She laughed.

Tristan chuckled. "She's a cute kid."

Rory smiled. She slowly leaned forward and kissed him.

Tristan pulled back. "Thanks." He joked.

Rory blushed. "God that was so not my greatest moment!" She laughed.

"Nah I thought it was cute." Tristan smirked and leaned forward to kiss her again.

Just then the front door opened and Jess came in. He saw Alice playing with her toys. "Hey you, where's Rory?"

"In the kitchen kissing Tristan." She giggled.

"What?" Jess said. He went down the corridor and Rory and Tristan were standing there awkwardly. "Hey..." He said.

"Hi.." Rory said. "I thought you were at the diner."

"Yeh but it's like dead in there so Luke said I could come home for a couple of hours." He said. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Uh no. Nothing." Rory said.

Jess looked at both of them. "Sure..." He said. He looked at Tristan. "Look, I know we're friends but if you hurt her, I'll kill you ok?" He said.

"Noted." Tristan nodded.

Jess just shook his head. "I leave the house for an hour..." He said as he headed back to the living room.

Rory smirked, relieved that he was ok with it. She smiled at Tristan. "So do you want to stay for a bit? Watch some tv or something?"

"Sure." He said. "So what happened yesterday that was big then?"

Rory sighed. "My dad turned up."

Tristan looked confused. "Your dad? I thought..."

"My biological dad." Rory said. "Luke adopted me when I was 9." She explained.

"Wow...I would never have guessed that. So Jess..?"

"Is technically my step cousin but he's lived with us since he was 9 as well so we're pretty much brother and sister. Luke's his uncle." She said.

"And Alice?"

"My half sister." Rory said.

"Wow." Tristan said. "Complicated."

Rory laughed. "Yep. But biology doesn't matter. We're a family." She shrugged.

"Fair enough." Tristan nodded.

They went into the living room and sat down next to Jess on the couch. Jess smirked at them. "You know when Luke finds out about you two, he's going to freak."

Rory sighed. "I know.." She said.

"Good luck." Jess smirked at Tristan.

"Jess!" Rory said playfully hitting him. "It won't be that bad..."

"Sure it won't..." Jess grinned. "You think I'll kill you if you hurt her, Luke will be 100 times worse."

Rory rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine." She assured Tristan.

"Ok.." Tristan said slightly nervous.

"Are you Rory's boyfriend now?" Alice asked.

"Nothing gets you past you, does it?" Tristan chuckled.

"So are you?" Alice asked insistently.

Tristan glanced at Rory who smiled at him and he turned back to Alice. "Yeh I am. Is that ok with you?" He asked.

"Will you play plastic horses with me again?" She asked.

"Sure." He said.

"Then I'm ok with it." She grinned. "Do you want to be the purple one or the pink one?" She asked holding them out.

Tristan turned to see Jess and Rory both laughing. "She drives a hard bargain, doesn't she?"

"You better choose one or she might change her mind." Jess smirked.

"Fine. Purple." Tristan said taking the horse from Alice and sat down on the floor with her and started playing.

Rory watched him, smiling. There was so many different sides to Tristan. She never would have thought that he would want to play plastic horses with a 5 year old girl. Tristan glanced round at her and caught her eye. He just shook her head at her and she grinned. ""Welcome to our crazy family." She joked.

 **A short one I know, sorry! Will do a longer one at the weekend! :) Please review and let me know what you think! I really appreciate all of your comments! Thanks! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for your reviews! Here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 9

It was a cold wintry Sunday in Stars Hollow. Luke was working at the diner. He had hardly seen Lorelai all weekend because she was working hard at the inn as they were holding an event there during the week. Luke was getting worried that she was overworking as she would often come home exhausted and go straight to bed. He was sort of relieved when the bells jingled above the door and Lorelai came in. "Hey!" She said rushing over to the counter. "Just a coffee to go please hon."

"Lorelai, have you eaten today?" Luke asked.

Lorelai hesitated. "I will. I just need to rush back for this meeting. I'll eat afterwards."

"Lorelai, it's already 3. You need to eat. I'm making you a burger." Luke said.

"I don't have time." Lorelai said.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. It's cold out. You need to eat." He said.

"God Luke, I'll come back after the meeting if you're that bothered! Now just give me that damn coffee!" She said irritated.

Luke sighed. "Fine." He said handing her the coffee.

"Thanks." She said and rushed out.

* * *

Rory and Jess were out keeping Alice occupied. They were on their way to the diner to get some food.

"Have you noticed anything different about mom and Luke?" Jess asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"It's just they hardly spend any time together anymore. Mom always comes home late and then goes straight to bed and I keep hearing them arguing. Luke thinks she's working too hard." Jess said.

"Well she does have that event on this week at the inn. She wants it to go well." Rory said.

"Yeh I know. It's just I think she's been skipping meals which you know is not like her." Jess said.

Rory frowned. "Yeh that's true."

They walked beside the window of the diner and glanced in as they saw raised voices and saw Luke and Lorelai arguing again. "See." Jess said.

Lorelai then came rushing out.

"Hi mom!" Rory said. "You staying for some food? We're just heading in there now."

"Haven't got any time. Will get some later. I'll see you all then." Lorelai said rushing off.

"Ok, that was weird." Rory agreed.

They were about to head into the diner when they heard a commotion behind them. They looked and saw a couple of people standing over someone looking concerned. Rory's eyes widened when she realised who it was. "Mom!" She shouted.

"Why is mommy lying on the floor?" Alice asked quietly.

Rory looked at Alice's worried face. "She's going to be ok. Go and get daddy ok? Tell him to come to Dooses'. Tell him it's mommy, ok?" She said.

Alice nodded and ran into the diner. Rory and Jess then ran over to the group.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, racing to Lorelai's side.

Lorelai was just coming to. "Rory?" She said.

"What happened?" Rory asked.

"I..I don't know." Lorelai said confused. "I think I fainted or collapsed or something."

"You should go and get checked out." Jess said.

"No I'm fine. I just need a minute." Lorelai waved off his suggestion.

"No you need to go checked out." Jess said. "Please mom!"

"Lorelai!" Luke exclaimed running down the road towards her with Alice. "What happened?" He asked.

"She fainted." Jess said. "We need to get her checked out."

"I'm fine." Lorelai insisted.

"You're not fine!" Rory exclaimed. "Mom this isn't you! You don't skip meals, you don't work all hours and you never faint. You need to get checked out. Please!" She pleaded.

Lorelai looked at their worried faces and sighed. "Ok. But I swear I'm fine."

"Then they will say that. Come on." Luke said helping her up slowly. He looked at Jess and Rory. "You two watch Alice, ok? Call Sookie and tell her what's happened and that Lorelai's not coming back in today and then come meet us at the hospital." He said.

They nodded and helped him get Lorelai to the car. They then headed to the inn and explained to Sookie what had happened and she assured them that the inn was covered and to tell Lorelai she hoped she was feeling better. They then found the jeep and Jess drove off to the hospital.

* * *

Meanwhile, the drive to the hospital in the truck was quiet. Lorelai glanced over at Luke. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

Luke looked over at her and his face softened. "It's not your fault. We're just worried about you. We want to make sure you're ok."

"I don't know what's happening." Lorelai admitted. "I get tired so much easier now. I used to be able to do long shifts and I'd be fine."

"I think you just need some rest. You've been working really hard recently." Luke said.

"What if something's wrong?" Lorelai asked quietly. "What if I'm ill or something? I mean I don't feel it but Rory's right. I've never fainted once in my life before."

"The doctors will know what to do. Let's wait to see what they say before you start to worry ok?" Luke said.

Lorelai nodded.

They got to the hospital pretty quickly and Luke explained the situation to one of the nurses who took Lorelai into a room to check her out. Luke sat outside in the waiting and put his head in his hands. He hated hospitals. He stayed like that for a few minutes when he heard Alice's voice.

"Daddy!" She called.

He looked up to see her running down the corridor towards him with Rory and Jess following behind. He smiled and pulled Alice up onto his lap.

"Is mommy going to die?" Alice asked quietly.

"No sweetheart. She's just not feeling too well at the moment. The doctors will be able to make her feel better." Luke assured her.

Rory and Jess walked up to him. "Are they checking her over?" Jess asked.

Luke nodded. "They said to wait out here while they do some tests."

Jess nodded. He saw Rory sit down on one of the seats not saying anything. He went and sat next to her. "She'll be ok." He assured her.

"This isn't like her." Rory said. "I can't believe I didn't notice something was wrong. What sort of daughter am I?"

"Hey, don't say that." Jess said putting him arm round her. "She hid it well. I only noticed the last day or so." He said.

Rory sighed. "She will be ok, though, won't she?" She asked.

"Of course. She's the toughest person I know." He smiled.

Rory smiled back. "Thanks Jess." She said quietly, leaning her head on her shoulder.

After about half an hour, the doctor came out. "Family of Mrs Danes?" He asked.

They all nodded and stood up. "Is she ok?" Luke asked.

"She has a low blood sugar level but she should be able to maintain that once she's had a good meal. She's admitted she's not being eating much recently." He said.

Luke nodded. "So is that why she fainted? She's been working long shifts. Is is because she's tired and stressed?"

"That's part of it, yes, but there is something else we found out." The doctor said.

"What?" Luke said, his heart sinking.

"Your wife's pregnant." He smiled.

"What?" Luke said stunned. He looked at Rory and Jess who looked just as shocked.

"We've done blood tests and it's been confirmed. Congratulations." He said.

Luke was speechless. "I didn't even think about that..." He said.

"Your wife's right through there. You can go and see her now." The doctor smiled. "The baby's healthy. Your wife does need to take it easy though."

Luke nodded. "Thanks." He said. He looked over at the kids.

"You go first. We'll come in a bit." Rory said.

"You sure?" Luke asked.

"Go see mom." Rory smiled. "Congratulations daddy."

Luke finally smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

Luke was sat next to Lorelai. "Did you know?" He asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I mean I was a couple of days late but I didn't think much of it. I'm not the most regular person." She said. "I can't believe I'm pregnant. It explains so much. The tiredness, my mood..." She said.

"Yeh.." Luke said.

"We didn't plan this." Lorelai said cautiously. "I mean, I know we talked about having another one but we didn't say when. What do you think? Are we ready?" She said worried.

Luke took hold of her hand. "There's never a plan for this. We agreed we both wanted another. It's just come a bit sooner than we thought. But think about Alice. We didn't plan her and she's amazing." He smiled.

"You're not freaking out?" Lorelai asked quietly.

Luke smiled. "Why would I? I'm going to be a dad again."

Lorelai gave him a small smile. "Yeh.."

"You need to take it easy though." He said. "The doctor said you need to. If not for me, do it for the baby. You need to stay healthy. I'm not saying you have to stop at the inn altogether but please promise me you'll take it easy. Stop doing these long shifts ok?"

Lorelai nodded. "Ok." She said quietly.

Luke let out a relieved breath. "Thank you." He said softly.

Lorelai finally smiled a genuine smile. "We're having a baby."

"We're having a baby." He smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

 **So a bit of a twist there? Did you see that coming? ;) Please review and let me know what you think. I love reading your comments! Thanks! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! Here's the next chapter! Hope you liked it! :)**

Chapter 10

Lorelai was standing behind the reception desk at the inn sorting out some paperwork. For the past week she had kept to her promise and wasn't working as hard. Sookie was happy to cover for her and even Michel wasn't grumbling as much. Luke had been making sure she'd been having proper meals and she was feeling much better. The phone rang at the desk.

"Hello, Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking." She answered.

"Lorelai, it's your mother." Emily said.

"Oh hi mom." Lorelai forced a cheerful voice on. She hadn't told her parents about her pregnancy yet.

"Have you seen the weather forecast?" Emily asked.

"Uh no mom, I've been at the inn." Lorelai said.

"Well there's a huge blizzard on its way." Emily said. "I'm getting Rory and Jess collected from Chilton and driven straight here."

"Both of them?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Nothing." Lorelai sighed. "Thank mom."

"So when are you, Luke and Alice getting here?" She asked.

"Well geez mom, I don't know how we would get there." Lorelai said.

"You're not coming." Emily said shortly.

"Well if the weather's as bad as you say I don't know how we will get there." She said.

"Fine. Well I don't know how they would get back home then so maybe they should stay the night." She said.

"Ok."

Lorelai heard the sound of a door opening and closing. "Oh they're here." Emily said.

"Put them on the phone." Lorelai said.

"Rory, it's your mom." Emily said handing her the phone.

"Hey mom!" Rory said.

"So the weather's bad huh?"

"Yeh it's really bad here! There was so much ice and it was so slippery." Rory said.

"Aw you fell!" Lorelai grinned.

"Twice." Rory grumbled. "But Jess fell more!" She grinned.

"Hey, I was helping keep you up! I was being a good brother!" Jess exclaimed in the background.

Rory grinned. "So are you coming tonight?"

"Not tonight, sorry." Lorelai said. "Which sort of gets me off the hook for another week."

Rory glanced over at her Grandma who was listening to them. She whispered so that she couldn't hear her. "You'll have them tell them at some point."

Lorelai sighed. "I know but at least I can prepare what to say now."

"Ok, well give Alice and dad a kiss from me." She smiled. She saw Jess holding out his hand. "Wait a moment, your son wants to speak to you."

"Put him on." Lorelai smiled.

"Hey." Jess said.

"Hey, so you fell loads huh?" She joked.

"I was protecting Rory!" He defended himself.

"Aw such a good brother." She teased.

"Yeh yeh whatever." Jess said.

"Ok so we can't make it tonight but be good ok? And don't worry, you'll be home tomorrow." She smiled.

"Yeh ok." Jess said, not really liking the idea of spending the night at the Gilmore Mansion where he knew Emily didn't like him.

"Just stick with Rory. If they make you eat anything healthy, tell me and I'll call the food police." She joked.

"You know you and Rory are the unhealthy eaters in our family. I actually am able to eat vegetables." He smirked.

"Yeh well you take after Luke." She said.

Jess smirked. "I better go." He said seeing Emily watching him intently. "See you tomorrow mom."

"See ya Jess." Lorelai smiled. She heard Rory shout bye from the background and then she hung up.

* * *

Later that evening, Jess and Rory were studying on the dining room table where they could hear Emily talking on the phone angrily. They watched as she hung up. "Unbelievable!" She muttered. "Well we're stuck. The cook's not coming."

Richard looked up from his newspaper. "What's that?"

"Richard! The cook isn't coming. What are we going for dinner?" She exclaimed. "This is probably the only good meal they have weekly."

"Rory, Jess, do you feel like you're malnourished in any way? Would you like us to set up a charity for you?" He asked.

"We're good." Rory said looking over at Jess who was smirking.

"They're good, Emily." Richard said.

Emily huffed. "Well we have to eat!"

"Why don't Jess and I have a look in the kitchen, Grandma? I'm sure we could whip something up." She said.

"Whip something up?" Emily asked astounded.

"Yeh Jess is actually quite a good cook." Rory said.

"Wow thanks for the note of surprise." Jess smirked.

Rory grinned. "And Luke's taught me a few things. I'm sure we can make something. We'll go look." She said getting up.

"Well ok..." Emily said doubtfully.

Jess and Rory headed into the kitchen with Emily and Richard following. They opened the fridge and Jee hid his smirk. There was nothing in there except the frozen pizza and the basic things.

"Well there's frozen pizza." Rory said.

"How did that get there?" Emily asked surprised.

Rory took it out.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"We're going to make it." Rory smiled. "It's easy. You just put it in the oven. What are the chances that you'll know where a baking tray is?" She asked.

"I'd say doubtful." Richard said.

Jess smirked.

"It's fine. We'll look around and we'll make something for dessert as well." Rory smiled.

"Well ok." Emily said unconvinced but left with Richard.

"So what are we going to make for dessert?" Jess asked, looking in some of the cupboards and then finding a baking tray and taking it out.

"Well they've got eggs and flour and butter and chocolate. I bet we could make some brownies." She said.

"You know how to make brownies?" Jess raised his eyebrows.

"Luke taught me when we were younger." Rory said, taking the pizza out of the plastic and putting it in the oven. She then got all the ingredients out for brownies. She started measuring out everything. She grinned at Jess. "Did I ever tell you about Luke and I having a flour fight?"

"Luke had a flour fight?" Jess asked surprised.

Rory laughed. "I remember it so well. My mom was going out with Sookie and Mia and she had noone to watch me. This was before her and Luke got together." She said. "He heard us talking about it and he offered to watch me. It took mom some persuading but she finally agreed. The thing was that when she left me with Luke, I was sat at the counter doing some reading and we didn't really know what to do. He then suddenly suggested making some brownies. He let me in the kitchen and everything!" She grinned.

"Wow!" Jess chuckled.

"Anyway, we were making the mixture and suddenly I knocked over the flour and some went on the floor and some over him. I was scared that he would be angry but then suddenly he took a handful and threw it back at me." Rory smiled at the memory. "It relaxed me a bit and then we finished making the brownies and then went up and played monopoly."

Jess chuckled. "God he's such a sap."

Rory playfully hit him. "He was trying to put me at ease. It was nice. He actually took an interest in me."

Jess smiled. "Sounds cool."

"Yeh it was." Rory smiled.

Jess saw the flour lying on the side and suddenly there was a glint in his eye. He picked up a handful.

"Jess, don't you dare! Grandma would freak!" Rory said.

Jess grinned and threw it at her.

"Jess!" Rory laughed. She then threw some back at him.

They then proceeded to have a full on flour fight and at the end they were both covered in flour. They looked around the kitchen which was a mess. "We better clean up." Rory said. "Before Grandma comes back in."

Suddenly the door opened and Richard came in. "Your Grandma wanted me to check to see how everything's going." He said. He then stopped when he saw the state of them and the kitchen. His lips twitched. "I'll tell her that everything's going fine. I can probably hold her back from coming in from checking herself for another 10 minutes. After that, you're on your own." He said.

"Thanks." Rory said hiding a smile.

"You should probably get your clothes clean as well." He said with an amused smile and then left.

Rory and Jess both looked at each other and smirked. "Come on, we better get cleaned up. Grandpa's right. Grandma will be in soon."

Jess nodded and they start cleaning up and wiping the flour off their clothes. By the time they served the pizza and the brownies were in the oven, Emily was the none the wiser. Surprisingly, both Emily and Richard enjoyed the pizza.

* * *

At about 9, Jess and Rory headed upstairs. Rory was having her mom's old room while Jess was in the guest room. Jess went with Rory, though, to hang out for a bit.

"This so does not seem like mom." Jess said looking round the room.

Rory nodded, agreeing. "I can't imagine her in here." She said. She went over to the chest of drawers and looked at stuff on top of it. She then opened the drawers and found an album. She pulled it out and opened it. "Hey it's an album of mom!" She smiled taking it over to the bed. They both sat up against the headboard and started looking through it. "Aw that must have been Grandma an Grandpa's wedding day." She smiled.

Jess nodded. He then smirked. "They were right. Mom did have a big head." He joked pointing to a photo of her as a baby dressed in a dress.

Rory smirked. "Don't be mean! She grew into it!" Jess grinned.

They looked through a few more pages when they got to a photo of Lorelai in a pretty white dress. She looked about their age in it. "Wow she's beautiful in this." Rory said in awe.

"Must have been an event or something." Rory said.

"It was her coming out." Emily said from the door.

They both turned their heads to the door and saw her standing there. "Mom had a coming out?" Rory asked.

"No, she didn't." Emily said shortly.

Rory suddenly understood. Coming outs were had when you were 16. "Oh..." She said quietly. Something then fell out of the album from the back. Rory picked it up and saw her mom making faces with a boy. She turned it over and realised who it was when she read what her mom had put. She turned it back over.

"Is that...?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded. "Christopher..." She said. She then tore up the photo into little bits.

"Rory!" Emily exclaimed.

"She wouldn't want it anymore." Rory said.

"He's still your father!" Emily said.

"No he's not. Luke's my dad. That will never change. Why have you suddenly had a change of mind anyway? You helped us with that restraining order!" Rory said angrily.

"Rory, calm down." Jess said gently.

"He's changed. He's proved to us he's changed." Emily said.

Rory just shook her head. "He'll never change." She said angrily. "He thinks he can just waltz back into my life. He can think again. I'm not just going to forgive him for everything!"

Emily was shocked by her outburst.

"Luke is the one who's cared for me! He was there for my birthdays! He was there when I fell off my bike for the first time! He was always there! He's never let me down! Ever! You seem to forget he's the reason mom and I are even alive! He could have died in that car crash!" Rory shouted, feeling tears well up.

"Rory, calm down. It's ok." Jess said. "Come here." He said pulling her to him.

Rory cried into his chest. "Why does he keep doing this? Everywhere I go, there's always a reminder of him. Why can he do this me?"

"It's ok." Jess comforted her. He looked up and saw the shocked look on Emily's face. He hoped she wouldn't make it any worse.

"Rory, I'm sorry." Emily said quietly. "I didn't realise..." She went to leave but stopped at the door and looked back. She watched as Jess comforted Rory and she could see how much they meant to each other. They really were like brother and sister. She went back downstairs and found Richard in the living room.

Richard looked up and saw her worried look. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"I got them all wrong, didn't I?" Emily said quietly. "Jess, Luke, Alice...Because they weren't the family I wanted for Lorelai and Rory, I treated them so badly..."

"Oh Emily..." Richard said softly.

"She ripped up a photo of Lorelai and Christopher." Emily said. "She was looking through that album of Lorelai's and this strip of photos of her and Christopher fell out. Rory started going on about how much Luke had done for them and how he would always be her dad. She was hysterical."

Richard sighed. "Luke is a good man, Emily. He's looked after them all these years. And Jess is a good kid. Him and Rory are so close."

"I know." Emily said quietly. "I just...I wanted so much more for Lorelai. I wanted her to be happy and successful."

"She is." Richard assured her. "She is happy."

Emily sat down next to him and sighed. "I didn't know Christopher had affected Rory so much. I guess I just didn't think. You should have seen her Richard."

"Why don't we just concentrate on getting our family back?" Richard said gently. "Lorelai's finally let us back in. We should use this to get to know them all better."

Emily nodded. "You're right. I never thought this day would come." She admitted.

"Lorelai may not have the life we had hoped she would but she's got a very good life. She's found someone who loves her and she's expanded her family. And look at Rory, look at what a good job she did with her." He said.

"Rory is great." Emily gave him a small smile. She looked at Richard. "Is it just me or does Jess remind you a bit of Lorelai?"

Richard chuckled. "I thought exactly the same when we first met him. He won't take any rubbish and he would do anything for his family, especially Rory."

Emily smiled. "Yeh."

Richard took hold of her hand. "Let's go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Ok." She said and followed him upstairs.

Richard smiled to himself, hoping this was the start of finally having his family back and united.

 **Sorry not much Luke and Lorelai in this but I promise there will be more of them in the next chapter! :) So what did you think? Please review and let me know! Thanks! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! I notice sometimes when I update that my story sometimes doesn't go to the top so keep checking back! Thought I'd treat you and give you another chapter. :)**

Chapter 11

Lorelai was surprised when her mother rang up during the week and enthusiastically invited them all to their Christmas party. "Ok, who are you and what have you done to my mother?" She said.

"Lorelai!" Emily said. "Is it not too much to ask for the family to join us at our party? We want you there."

Lorelai was still suspicious. "What's the catch, mom? You hate Luke and you hardly say anything to Jess and Alice when we come over for dinner. Why are you all suddenly adamant that we all come?"

Emily sighed. "Rory didn't tell you?" She asked.

"Tell me what?" Lorelai asked confused.

"You should ask her." Emily said. "She found something which upset her and I may have said something which upset her further and she broke down." She said quietly.

"What did you say to her?" Lorelai asked getting angry.

"I apologised and we're ok but you should talk to her." She said. "We'll see you all on Friday." She added and then hung up.

Lorelai stood there for a moment before grabbing her bag. "Hold the fort, Michel." She said.

"I always do anyway." He said.

Lorelai ignored him and got into her jeep and drove home. She found Jess and Rory home with Alice. "What happened at your grandparents' house?" She asked.

"What?" Rory asked.

"Your Grandma called and said you got upset, that you broke down over something. What happened?" Lorelai asked.

Jess got up and went over to Alice. "Hey, why don't we go see if there's anything to eat?" He said and then led her to the kitchen.

Rory was quiet for a moment. Lorelai sighed and went to sit by her. "What is it?" She asked softly. "Please talk to me. We always talk to each other."

"I'm scared Chris will worm his way back in." She admitted.

Lorelai was stunned. "What? Why would you think that?"

Rory shrugged. "He's staying in Hartford, he obviously still has a thing for you or he wouldn't have come back. I'm pretty sure he still hates dad. I don't want him to ruin our family again."

"Oh Rory..." Lorelai said softly.

"I was in your old room at Grandma and Grandpa's and I found a photo album of you when you were younger. And then at the back there was a strip of photos of you and him making funny faces. You looked happy." Rory said quietly. "Everywhere I look, he seems to appear."

Lorelai sighed. "Hon, Christopher was my first boyfriend. He gave me you and I really can't regret that."

"Did you love him?" Rory asked.

"At the time I probably thought I did but I didn't really know what love felt like until I met Luke. I'm really happy, Rory. Chris is not going to mess up our family, I promise." Lorelai reassured her.

Rory sighed. "I probably sound stupid..."

Lorelai shook her head. "No you don't. It's natural to worry and I'm sincerely sorry that you didn't grow up with good memories of Chris." She said.

Rory shrugged. "I had Luke."

"Yeh. You did." Lorelai smiled. "Hon, promise me, if you ever feel like this you talk to me ok? You will always have Luke, no matter what. I can assure you of that."

"So can I." A voice said from the doorway.

Lorelai and Rory turned round to see Luke coming into the living room.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Rory looked at her shoes, embarrassed.

"Rory just needed some reassurance." Lorelai told him. "She found some photos of me and Chris when she was at my parents' house and what with him returning recently, I think she's just a bit worried he's going to ruin everything again."

"I don't want him to push you away." Rory said quietly, still focussing on her shoes. "You're the only real dad I've had. I don't want to lose you."

Luke went over and sat next to them. "Rory, look at me." He said gently.

Rory slowly looked up at him.

"I will always be here for you ok?" He promised.

"What if something happens with you and mom?" Rory asked. "I don't want it to but you can't promise everything's going to stay like it is now."

"No but I can promise whatever happens, I won't abandon you. I will always be here for you." He said. "I promise."

Rory nodded. "I'm sorry." She said leaning over to give him a hug.

"You don't need to be sorry." Luke said. "You've had to deal with a lot. But you will always have me. You can come to me for anything. You got that?"

Rory nodded. "Can I ask you a favour?" She asked pulling away.

"Sure." He said.

"Ease up on Tristan a bit?" She smirked.

Lorelai laughed. "Oh you're good! You are so my daughter!" She joked.

Luke had to smirk as well. "Ok fine but if he hurts you..."

"Yes you and Jess are welcome to kill him." Rory smirked.

"Good." He nodded.

* * *

That Friday, they all went to the Gilmore Mansion for the annual Christmas party. "Why the hell do they celebrate Christmas three days early?" Luke asked.

Lorelai laughed. "Come on Scrooge." She said walking inside after the maid let them in.

Emily came and greeted them. "You came." She said, looking genuinely pleased.

"I said we would." Lorelai said.

"Yes well I never know with you." Emily said. "Luke, it's good to see you again."

Luke was surprised by the greeting. "Uh yes you too, Mrs Gilmore."

"Oh please, call me Emily." She said. "I mean you are family." She said. "Come on, everyone's in the other room."

"Ok is it me or is that a clone of my mother? It sure looks like her but it definitely doesn't seem like her." Lorelai joked.

Luke shrugged. "Maybe she's had a few drinks already."

They all went into the living room and greeted the other guests. They sat down and had drinks for a bit, Lorelai disguising hers. Soon dinner was announced and they all made their way into the dining room. As Luke got up, he noticed Richard fussing with his tie and looking uncomfortable. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine. Just a bit hot." Richard brushed it off.

Luke was unconvinced and as they sat down for the meal he could see that Richard was struggling. Noone else seemed to notice.

"Richard, will you quit fussing with that tie!" Emily said.

"I'm just feeling a bit hot. I'm going to go and turn down the heating." He said getting up and walking into the next room.

"Richard!" Emily exclaimed.

"I'll go help him." Luke said getting up. He felt Lorelai's hand on his arm and he turned to see her looking at him questioningly. "Something isn't right." He said quietly. Sure enough his suspicions were confirmed when he went into the other room and found Richard collapsing against the wall, struggling for breath. "Emily!" He called. He rushed over to Richard and supported him. "Just take long deep breaths." He told him.

Emily appeared at the door and gasped. "Richard!" She exclaimed in horror.

"I think he's having a heart attack." Luke said. "We have to get him to hospital. Ring 911."

Emily nodded and shakily called the emergency services. She then rushed to Richard's side. "Richard, can you hear me?"

"Can't...breathe..." He wheezed.

Luke saw Lorelai's worried expression whilst standing at the door. He then saw Jess, Rory and Alice appear. "Jess, take Alice into the other room. She shouldn't see this. You go too, Rory." He said gently.

Jess nodded and immediately removed Alice from the room. Rory stayed by her mom though, not being able to move.

"Is Grandpa going to be ok?" Alice asked Jess quietly.

Jess went through to the living room and sat down on the couch. He picked Alice up and placed her on his lap. "He'll be fine. But he needs to go to the hospital so the nice doctors can look after him."

"He didn't look well." Alice said quietly.

"I know." Jess said quietly. It had shaken him to see Richard looking so vulnerable. He had been growing closer to him over the last few weeks. "But the doctors know what they're doing. They will be able to help him."

After a few minutes, Jess heard sirens and heard movement. Luke then appeared in the living room with Lorelai and Rory. "They've taken him in the ambulance. Is it ok if you take Alice back home? I don't want her to have to wait at the hospital." He said.

"I'd rather come with you." Jess said.

"Jess..."

"Please." Jess said. "I need to know he's ok."

Luke saw his worried expression and nodded. He looked at Lorelai. "Could you ring Sookie and ask her to pick Alice up?"

Lorelai nodded.

* * *

With Alice picked up, the four of them headed to the hospital. They arrived to find Emily shouting at the receptionist. After Lorelai managed to calm her down, the two of them went off to find out what was going on while Luke waited on some seats with Jess and Rory.

Lorelai returned after a few minutes to say that he was still in surgery but that he would be out shortly.

"Where's Grandma?" Rory asked.

"Kicking someone out of a room with a good view." Lorelai smirked.

Rory smirked a little. She then saw Lorelai look over her shoulder. "What?" She asked.

"Think someone's come to see you." She said gesturing over her shoulder.

Rory turned round and was surprised to see Tristan standing awkwardly. "Tristan! Wha...What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I got your text. I figured you might want some company." He said.

Rory smiled and went over and hugged him. "It was awful..." She said quietly.

"Hey, how about you two go and get some drinks?" Luke suggested. "You too Jess." He pulled out his wallet and gave them some money. "Grab something to eat as well."

"You sure?" Rory asked. "But Grandpa..."

"We'll come and get you as soon as we know anything." Luke promised.

Rory nodded and the three of them headed off.

"Still think Tristan's trouble?" Lorelai asked sitting down next to him.

"He's won some brownie points today at least." Luke said.

They sat in silence for a minute.

"You ok?" Luke asked softly.

Lorelai sighed. "I know I've never been that close to my parents but seeing him like that, so helpless..." She said quietly.

"It's hard." Luke nodded. "They're still your parents."

"You stayed so calm. How did you do that?" Lorelai asked. "I should have rushed forward to help but I froze. I couldn't move."

Luke sighed. "I know how you felt. I felt the same years ago..."

Lorelai kicked herself. "Your dad..." She said quietly. "Oh Luke I'm so sorry. I didn't think..."

"It's fine." Luke assured her. "I should have done something sooner though. I saw the symptoms during the night. I recognised them." He said.

Lorelai shook his head. "You were amazing, Luke. You kept calm and you controlled the situation. You were great with dad and I'm sure he'll say the same."

"She's right." A voice said from the doorway.

They looked up to see Emily watching them.

"How is he?" Lorelai asked.

"It was just angina." Emily said obviously relieved. "He needs to exercise and change his diet but he should be fine."

"Oh thank god." Lorelai breathed. She felt tears in her eyes as she turned to look at Luke. "He's going to be ok."

"I heard." Luke smiled. "Come here." He said pulling her into a hug.

Emily watched them interact and she saw the love between them. She watched how Luke wiped the tears from her face tenderly. She then saw him say something quietly to her and she saw Lorelai smile in reaction. She saw how genuine that smile was as well. "Where are the kids?" She asked after a while.

"We got Sookie to pick Alice up. Jess, Rory and Tristan have gone to get drinks and some food." Lorelai said. "Oh we said we'd get them when we knew anything."

"Lorelai, why don't you go and get them and then you can go in and see your father? He's a bit groggy but I know he would like to see you." Emily said.

Lorelai nodded and headed off to find the kids.

Emily sat down next to Luke and he straightened up. "I'm glad he's ok." Luke said.

"I'd like to thank you." Emily said.

"Me? Why?" Luke said surprised.

"Lorelai was right. You handled the situation so well. You really helped calm Richard down and I know that helped. So thank you." Emily said sincerely.

"You don't need to thank me." He said awkwardly.

Emily was quiet for a minute before she turned to look at him. "Your dad...I heard you talking to Lorelai. He died of a heart attack?" She asked cautiously.

Luke nodded slowly. "He had cancer but it was a heart attack that killed him. I found him collapsed in our shop." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry. That must have been awful." Emily said, feeling for him. She hadn't really thought about Luke's past. She had noticed his parents weren't at the ready but she wasn't that interested at the time. "Your mother?" She asked cautiously.

"She died when I was much younger." Luke said. "She got cancer as well." He said feeling a lump in his throat.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She said quietly.

"It's fine." Luke said. "It was a long time ago."

"Still your parents though." She said.

Luke nodded. "Yeh." He said gruffly.

Lorelai then reappeared with Rory, Jess and Tristan. "Hey are you coming in with us?" She asked Luke.

"Uh yeh if you want me to?" He said.

Lorelai nodded. "I know you hate these places but it would help." She admitted.

"Then I'll come." Luke smiled getting up.

Emily watched as they headed down the corridor. Suddenly something caught her eye. She noticed that Rory was drinking coffee but she had given Lorelai a bottle of water. Her eyes widened when she saw Rory hand her an apple. Something clicked in her brain. These were all signs. Why hadn't she noticed it before?

 **So what do you think? :) Please keep the reviews coming! I really appreciate them all so thanks! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I keep repeating myself but thank you for all our reviews! They really do motivate me! :) Here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 12

Lorelai opted to stay a bit longer at the hospital while Luke took the kids home, picking up Alice on the way back. Lorelai sat down in a seat and a minute after, Emily came out and sat next to her. "He's sleeping." She told her.

"Good." Lorelai smiled. "He needs the rest."

Emily nodded. She looked around. "Has Luke taken Rory and Jess home?"

"Yeh." Lorelai said.

"And you?" Emily asked.

"I figured I would stay a bit incase anyone needed something." Lorelai said.

Emily smiled.

"Not that you would need anyone but someone in this hospital might need something and I'll be here." Lorelai rambled.

"Lorelai?" Emily said.

"Yeh?"

"Are you pregnant?" Emily asked.

Lorelai was stunned. "Wha...How?"

"I'm your mother, Lorelai. I can see the signs. You didn't drink coffee, you ate an apple. It's not really your typical behaviour." Emily said.

Lorelai sighed. "Mom, we were going to tell you. It's just...It's hard to tell you things. You weren't exactly thrilled when I was pregnant with Rory and Alice."

"You were 16 when you had Rory. Tell me you wouldn't have felt the same as me if Rory came to you tomorrow and told you she was pregnant." Emily said.

Lorelai sighed. "Point taken." She conceded.

"I admit it was my own selfish fault with Alice." Emily admitted. "I had it in my mind that you belonged with a good man from a good background. I was wrong."

Lorelai was surprised. "Did you just apologise?"

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed.

Lorelai smiled. "You know if you had wanted to come and see Alice, you could have."

"I know." Emily nodded. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ok..."

"Can we be involved from the beginning with our new grandchildren? We've missed out on so much, a lot of it our fault but I don't want to miss out anymore. As Richard said, we're a family now. We've waited a long time for this."

Lorelai smiled. "You're going to be our kid's only grandparents. I want him or her to know you."

Emily smiled relieved. "Thank you."

"On one condition." Lorelai said. "You don't dictate how we bring our kid up. It's our decision. We're the parents."

Emily was quiet for a moment but nodded. She looked over at her daughter. "Was Luke close to his parents?" She asked.

Lorelai smiled sadly. "Yeh he was. I never met them. I think his mom died when he was a teenager. It was him and his dad and sister for so long and then his dad fell ill as well. Luke had a sports scholarship to go to a good college but he turned it down." She said.

Emily was surprised. "He did? Why?"

"His sister ran off with Jess so it was just Luke and his dad. He stayed so that he could look after him. He was all alone doing it. I don't know how that would have felt." Lorelai said sadly. "Apparently he withdrew from everyone. He changed his dad's hardware shop into a diner. I'm glad he did because otherwise we may have never met." She smiled remembering their first meeting.

Emily watched her daughter closely and saw her smile. "Tell me about it."

"About what?" Lorelai asked.

"When you first met Luke." She said. She was the confused expression on Lorelai's face. "Please. I'd like to know."

"Mia had given me the day off to spend the day with Rory. I had been working pretty much everyday so she made me take a day off. She told me about this diner that had recently opened. She knew Luke and his parents well. So we went. Rory wasn't sure because the first thing we saw was Luke arguing with Taylor through the window." Lorelai smirked. "Something about changing the sign. I soon found out later on why that was such a big deal." She saw her mom look at her questioningly. "It was his dad's sign. He left it up."

"Oh." Emily said understanding.

"Anyway, I tried to get his attention to get some coffee." Lorelai smiled. "He would probably tell you that first day he thought I was the most annoying woman on earth."

"I wouldn't know why." Emily said with an amused smile.

"Yeh well he still wasn't paying attention so I got the horoscope page and asked him what his birthday would. He told me and I wrote on his star sign that he would meet an annoying woman today and that if he gave me coffee, I would go away." Lorelai grinned.

"Let me guess. He gave you coffee?"

"Yep!" Lorelai grinned. "We then ordered some food and it was amazing. So was his coffee so we knew this was going to be our daily place to eat."

"So you hit it off straight away?" Emily asked genuinely interested.

Lorelai shrugged. "He probably thought I was annoying but he started playing along with my banter and everyone around town started commenting about how that was different for him. Also, he was nice to Rory so that's always a plus in my books."

Emily nodded. "Didn't it cost you to eat there everyday?"

"He rarely let us pay." Lorelai said. "I always wanted to give him something but he knew about our situation and wanted to make sure we ate well." She said. "He started looking out for us. Rory started growing close to him. He made her laugh which was good to hear. Did I tell you about Rory's 9th birthday party?" She asked.

Emily shook her head.

"We held it at the inn and Chris was meant to come visit but he couldn't. He promised he would ring on the day as well but when Rory tried him the phone had been disconnected again. Anyway, Rory had invited Luke to the party. I didn't really expect him to come because it was a kid's party but he showed up." Lorelai smiled. "You should have seen Rory's face. She was so upset about Chris but then Luke came and he managed to cheer her up. He made her a bookshelf as a present."

"He made her one?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeh." Lorelai smiled. "Him and his dad used to do stuff like that all the time apparently. Anyway, he knew she liked reading so thought it would be useful. She was ecstatic. She still has it in her room now."

"Were you dating at this point?" Emily asked confused.

"No. We'd only known him about a month but we'd gone to the diner everyday so Rory liked Luke." Lorelai smiled. "I guess he just thought it would be nice for her to have a bookshelf."

"That was very generous of him." Emily praised.

"Yeh well that's Luke." Lorelai smiled. "He started looking out for Rory. He babysat her once so that I could go out with Sookie and Mia. They made brownies and played monopoly. When she fell off her bike in the square, he brought her into the diner and cleaned it up to her and then gave her pie to cheer her up. He became a constant in her life and that's what she needed."

"I didn't realise how much he'd done for you." Emily admitted.

Lorelai shrugged. "You never asked."

"So when did you start dating?" She asked.

"After Rory had fallen off her bike, I took her back to the inn as I had to work. Luke came in later with some brownies to check on Rory." Lorelai smiled. "After he saw her, he asked to talk to me. He then asked if I wanted to go to dinner sometime. I told him I had to talk to Rory about it first."

"You didn't say yes straight away?" Emily asked surprised.

Lorelai shook her head. "Rory was my priority. I needed to make sure she was ok with it. But also, except for Sookie, Luke was my best friend and as I said before a constant in Rory's life. I didn't want to ruin that."

"So what happened?"

"I talked to Rory and she didn't mind. The only thing she was worried about was that if we broke up, she wouldn't get to see Luke again but I assured her that wouldn't happen and that Luke would always be there for her. So I said yes to Luke and that's how it all started." Lorelai smiled. "He kept the horoscope by the way."

"He did? From the first day you met?"

"Yeh." Lorelai smiled. "I think he still has it as well in his wallet."

Emily looked at her daughter's happy face while she talked about Luke. "You're happy, aren't you?"

Lorelai looked at her mom. "Very happy."

"I'm glad. I want you to be happy." Emily said. "Would you like to go to the canteen to get something to eat?"

"Yes please." Lorelai smiled.

They stood up and headed off to the canteen.

Later that evening, Lorelai headed home. She went in to find the downstairs dark. She went to Rory's room and frowned when she found it empty. She went upstairs and heard a noise coming from her and Luke's room. She went in and smiled at the sight. They had obviously been watching the tv in their and had fallen asleep. Alice and Rory had fallen asleep with their heads resting on Luke's chest while Jess was asleep next to Rory. She got undressed and carefully got up on the bed next to Alice. She didn't realise how tired she was until she fell asleep pretty quickly.

* * *

The next week soon came and it was Parents day at Chilton. The parents of the students were meant to go in with their children and go to their classes with them. Luke had got the day off so he could join Lorelai.

They went to the lockers first so that Rory and Jess could get their books and found Tristan there. "Hey." He smiled.

"Hey." Rory smiled. "Your parents not here?" She asked looking round.

"Nah they couldn't make it." He said. "Don't care really. But check it out over there." He said gesturing over to Paris who was with her mother who was telling her off about something and then made an excuse to leave.

"Poor Paris..." Rory said.

"Poor Paris?" Tristan laughed. "She's made your life hell here!"

Rory shrugged. "She still doesn't deserve this. All her personal stuff known by everyone here. I would hate that. Wouldn't you?"

"I guess..." Tristan said.

Rory looked back at Lorelai and Luke. "I'll just be a minute." She then hesitantly walked over to Paris. "Hey.." She said.

"What do you want?" Paris snapped. "I bet you were all laughing at me over there, weren't you?"

"Not really." Rory frowned. "I wouldn't hate to have to deal with what you've had to this past week." She said. "I just...I just wanted to tell you if you needed to talk to anyone. I know you hate me for some reason but I'm happy to listen if you need someone to vent to.

Paris frowned. "Why are you being nice to be?"

Rory shrugged. "Everyone needs a friend." She said. "You're welcome to hang out with us today if you want."

"I'm fine." Paris said shortly.

"Ok. Well the offer's there." Rory sighed, not really feeling like she's made a lot of progress. She turned back to join the others.

"Rory?" Paris said.

Rory turned back round. "Yeh?"

"Thanks." She said quietly.

Rory smiled. "I can be a pretty good friend if you give me a chance."

Paris gave her a small smile.

"Well I'll see you in English." Rory smiled and walked off.

* * *

Max watched as everyone filed into his class. His face lit up when he saw Lorelai but when he saw a man come in behind her and then put his arm round her waist, he frowned. He then proceeded to start the class. When the bell rang to signal its end, he saw Jess talk to Luke who nodded and followed him out. He took his chance as the classroom started to empty and wandered over to Rory. "Lorelai Gilmore right?"

"Danes." She said.

"Oh right." Max said. "Could I have a word?"

"Uh sure." Lorelai said. She gestured to Rory that she would meet her outside.

"So I'm really impressed by Rory and Jess' work. Rory really seems to have caught up." He smiled.

"Yeh she's been working really hard." Lorelai smiled.

"So was that your husband?" He asked casually.

"Uh yeh." Lorelai said confused by the change of subject.

"It's just he didn't join you the last time you came." He said.

"Oh..uh..well he was working." Lorelai said not really sure why this was any of his business.

"Where does he work?"

"He owns a diner." Lorelai said

"Oh that's quaint." Max said. "So you're..uh..happy?"

Lorelai frowned. "Excuse me but why is this any of your business?"

"I was just wondering. A woman like you doesn't seem to me like she would settle for a guy who owns a diner." Max said with an ingratiatingly smile.

Lorelai frowned. "I'm sorry but I'm finding this very inappropriate."

"All I'm saying is that we could maybe be good together." He smiled. "What do you say?"

"Uh no?" Lorelai said irritated. "Apart from the fact that I'm pregnant and I'm happily married, I'd also say it would be frowned upon that a teacher would ask out a mother of two of his students. What would the Headmaster say?"

"Well he wouldn't need to know. Neither would your husband." He tried.

Lorelai laughed. "I have to go. I need to find my _husband._ I would think very carefully before you proposition a married woman again or else I may have to have a word with the Headmaster. He's good friends with my parents so before you say he wouldn't believe me, think again. Goodbye Mr Medina." She snapped and then left the room. She found Rory waiting for her.

"Everything ok?" Rory asked.

"Your teacher just asked me out." Lorelai said, her jaw clenched.

"What?" Rory asked shocked.

"I need to find Luke. Do you mind if we leave a bit earlier? I need to tell Luke but I would rather not be here while I do it because I wouldn't rate Mr Medina's chances, would you?" She said.

Rory shook her head still in shock. "What did you say to him?"

"That I was happily married and if he propositioned me again, I would tell Headmaster Charleston." She said.

They soon found Luke and Jess.

"Everything ok? You've been ages." Luke said concerned.

"I need to tell you something but not here." Lorelai said. "Can we go home?"

"Uh...ok...if that's ok with..." He gestured to Rory and Jess.

"It's fine. Go." Rory nodded.

"Uh yeh." Jess said not knowing what was going on.

They said goodbye and then left.

"What happened?" Jess asked.

"Mr Medina asked mom out." Rory said.

"What? He knew she was married right? I mean Luke was in there with her." He said shocked.

"Didn't seem to bother him." Rory said. "Anyway, mom put him straight and wanted to tell dad but not here because..."

"He would kill Mr Medina." Jess said.

"Exactly." Rory said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke was driving him and Lorelai home. He glanced over at her. "You going to tell me what happened?"

Lorelai sighed. "Mr Medina asked me out." She said.

"What?" Luke said shocked, getting angry.

"I told him no. I told him that we were happily married and that I was pregnant. He didn't seem to mind about that." Lorelai said.

Luke's hands clenched the steering wheel but didn't say anything.

"Luke..."

"He probably saw me and thought what the hell you were doing with me and thought you deserved better. Right?" He said.

Lorelai was quiet.

"I knew it." Luke said quietly.

"He wasn't right. You know I love you Luke. I wouldn't change our life for anything. I love you so much." Lorelai said. "Please believe me when I say that I didn't lead him on at all and I promise you I put him straight."

Luke stared out at the road infront of him.

"Luke?" Lorelai said quietly.

"I believe you." He said quietly.

Lorelai let out a relieved breath. "The only man I want in my life is you." She said.

Luke glanced over at her and gave her a small smile. "Good."

Lorelai smiled. "You're not going to beat him up are you?" She joked.

"Depends on whether I have to. Will he do it again?" He asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I threatened to tell the Headmaster. " She said. "I don't think he would dare do it again."

"Good." Luke said.

"So we're ok?" Lorelai asked nervously.

Luke looked over and saw her worried expression. He sighed and reached over to take hold of one of her hands. "We're ok." He assured her.

Lorelai smiled. "Good." She said relieved. "I needed to tell you. I didn't want any secrets between us."

"I'm glad you did." Luke nodded. He glanced at her. "I trust you." He said softly.

Lorelai nodded. "Good because I don't want anyone else. I've got all I need."

Luke smiled and drove into their driveway. "How about we have a day together? Just the two of us."

"Sounds perfect." Lorelai smiled.

Luke got out and helped her out the car and they headed inside.

 **Hope you liked it! :) Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's your next chapter! Hope you like it! :)**

Chapter 13

Lorelai was working at the desk at the inn when Sookie came rushing up. "You know you're my best friend right?" Sookie said.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like what follows that?" Lorelai said.

"Well you know how I asked Jackson out..." Sookie said.

"Yeh. Weeks ago." Lorelai nodded.

"Well he just said today that he's free tonight." She said.

"Ok. Good..." Lorelai said wondering where this was going.

"Yeh. It is." Sookie said hesitantly. "Except I sort of panicked. I know if I'm just sat down with Jackson at a restaurant, I won't know what to say and I'll panic and ruin everything. So I sort of suggested we double date with you..."

"Aw Sook..." Lorelai said.

"I know. I'm sorry but I panicked. I really like him and I want this to work. I just thought if you were there as well the conversation might be a bit more natural and Luke knows Jackson from school so they're friends." Sookie said. She sighed. "Please?"

Lorelai sighed. "I'll have to do a lot of persuading to get Luke to agree."

"You can do that though. You get him to come to town events." Sookie pointed out.

"Fine." Lorelai conceded.

"Yay!" Sookie exclaimed enthusiastically. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret this!"

"Choose another phrase." Lorelai said.

"You will not have to pay!" Sookie said.

"Good." Lorelai smirked.

"Thank you. I owe you." Sookie smiled and rushed back to the kitchen.

Lorelai looked across at Michel who was smirking. "Ah shut up." She said. She then picked up the phone and rang Luke's.

"Luke's?" He answered.

"How's my pretty pretty husband today?" Lorelai grinned.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"How do you know I want something? Can't I just ring up and see how you are?" She said in mock astonishment.

"Lorelai.." He said.

Lorelai sighed. "I may have told Sookie we would double date with her and Jackson tonight..." She admitted.

"Ah geez seriously? Lorelai..." He protested.

"I'm sorry but she was desperate and she really likes Jackson. She thinks she'll just panic on her own and she doesn't want to ruin it." Lorelai said. "Please? Sookie deserves happiness and she's really excited about this. And you know Jackson right?"

"Yeh he's a good guy.." Luke admitted.

"And they would great together. Please? She's my best friend Luke. She would have done the same for me." She said.

Luke sighed. "Fine. But what about Alice?"

"Can't Rory and Jess watch her?" Lorelai asked.

"They're going out tonight." He said.

"They are?"

"Yeh they're going to a movie with Tristan and some girl from school." He said. "It was sort of last minute."

"Oh ok." Lorelai said. "Maybe Babette could watch her?"

"Morey's got a gig. They're away for the night." Luke said.

"Patty?"

"Got some toy boy at hers tonight."

"How do you know all this?" Lorelai asked.

"You forget the diner is sort of the base for all the gossipers." He said.

Lorelai thought for a minute. "Kirk?" She asked.

"Lorelai!" Luke said.

Lorelai grinned. "Sorry that wasn't a serious one." She then thought about an option but wasn't sure what Luke would think. "What about my parents?" She asked cautiously.

"Your parents?" Luke asked surprised.

"Yeh well dad's recovering and is feeling better and mom and I are actually getting on a bit better after that talk at the hospital. I just feel like they might like this olive branch. They could get to know Alice a bit better and Alice can get to know her grandparents." She said.

Luke thought about it for a moment. On one hand, he resented the fact how they had ignored Alice for all these years but he has also noticed a change in them recently, especially in Emily. Maybe they were trying. "Ok. But on one condition, you tell them that if they upset her they'll have me to answer to." He said.

Lorelai smiled. "I'll make sure to let them know that. So be ready for 7?"

"Ok." He said. "See you later."

"Bye hon." Lorelai smiled and hung up. She then picked up the phone and slowly dialled her parents' number. "Oh hi, may I talk to Emily or Richard Gilmore please? It's their daughter." She said when a maid answered.

"Lorelai?" Emily said coming onto the phone.

"Hi mom." Lorelai said.

"If you're ringing to say you can't come on Friday, we've already got food ready..." Emily said.

"No mom, it's nothing to do with that. I actually need to ask for a favour." She said.

"Oh?" Emily said intrigued.

"Yeh, Luke and I are going out tonight and I didn't realise Jess and Rory were as well so we don't have anyone to watch Alice." She said. "I was wondering whether maybe you'd like to? You could come to our house. We shouldn't be too long."

"You're asking us to babysit Alice?" Emily clarified.

Lorelai sighed, bracing for the worst. "I know it's short notice. You don't need to but I thought it might be nice for the three of you to get to know each other a it better."

"Well we did have a dinner to go to but they shouldn't miss us too much. I'm sure we could come." Emily said.

"Really?" Lorelai said surprised that she would reschedule a social event to come.

"Well it feels like you're desperate." Emily said.

"Well no not...uh...desperate. I mean you're not our last choice or anything..." Lorelai rambled.

"What time would you like us?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Well we're leaving at 7 so maybe 6:30 or 6:45?" Lorelai said.

"That's fine. We'll see you then."

"Thank you." Lorelai said sincerely.

"Goodbye Lorelai."

"Bye mom." Lorelai smiled and hung up.

* * *

That evening, everyone was at the house getting ready to go out.

"So Kate huh?" Lorelai smirked as she found Jess downstairs ready.

"She's just a friend." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeh sure she is." Lorelai grinned. "You know, that's exactly what Luke used to say about me."

"She's not interested in me anyway." Jess shook his head.

"Why do you think that?"

Jess shrugged. "Just don't get the vibe that she likes me like that."

"But you like her?" Lorelai asked, grinning.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Saved by the bell." Jess smirked.

Lorelai smirked and went to answer the door. "Hi mom, dad. Come on in. We're just all getting ready."

Emily and Richard followed her in.

"I'm just trying to find out if Jess likes this girl or not." She joked.

Rory then appeared from her room.

"Oh Rory good." Jess said getting up. "You ready? Good, let's go."

"Uh ok..." Rory said.

"Chicken!" Lorelai grinned at Jess.

Luke then came down. "You two meeting them there?" He asked them.

Rory nodded. "Yeh, Tristan's already there so we probably should get going. Have fun tonight."

"Here." Luke said getting his wallet out and taking out a couple of notes. "For food and stuff."

"Aw thanks!" Rory smiled taking it. "Bye Alice, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa."

"Don't be too late back." Lorelai called after them.

"We won't!" Rory called back. The two of them then left.

"We should probably get going too." Luke said looking at his watch.

"Oh yeh." Lorelai said seeing the time. "Bye sweetheart!" Lorelai hugged Alice. "Have fun." She smiled at her parents. "Thanks for this. There's food in the kitchen incase she gets hungry and help yourself to anything as well."

"Bye honey." Luke hugged Alice. He nodded at Emily and Richard. "See you later."

They then left, leaving Emily, Richard and Alice. Alice gave them a shy smile.

* * *

Jess and Rory got to the movie theatre and found that Kate had arrived as well.

"Hey!" Rory smiled giving Tristan a kiss.

"PDA!" Jess groaned. "Not infront of the brother!"

Rory grinned. "Sorry."

Kate smirked. "Hey." She said to him.

"Hey." Jess smiled.

They paid Kirk and then went inside. They managed to get the Big Red which were the best seats in the place. Tristan and Jess sat at the ends and then Kate and Rory sat in between them.

Meanwhile Luke, Lorelai, Sookie and Jackson had arrived at this fancy restaurant just outside Stars Hollow. Lorelai could tell Sookie was nervous because when they sat down and had given the waiter their orders, Sookie avoided talking to Jackson at all and talked to Lorelai. As Luke and Jackson ended up talking to each other, Lorelai excused herself and Sookie and took her to the bathroom.

"Ok you need to at least talk to him, Sook." Lorelai said.

"I know. I just...I don't know what to say. It's too fancy and it's too stressful." Sookie exclaimed.

"Ok. Then how about we just go to Luke's?" Lorelai suggested. "Luke can make us some burgers and it will be much more informal."

"Luke's? Ok yeh, that would be better." Sookie agreed.

They went back to the table and told the men their suggestions and they agreed. After cancelling their food, they headed back to Stars Hollow and to Luke's. Luke went to the kitchen and made the burgers while Lorelai hung out at the counter while Jackson and Sookie sat at a table. Sookie looked over at Lorelai who gave her an encouraging smile and gestured for her to say something. Sookie took a deep breath but Lorelai saw her eventually ask Jackson a question to which he answered happily. As they started talking, Lorelai saw Sookie visibly relax and even start to laugh at something Jackson had said. Luke came out of the kitchen with the burgers and saw Lorelai smiling. "What?" He asked.

"Look." Lorelai smiled nodding over to Sookie and Jackson.

Luke smiled when he saw them laughing and chatting. "About damn time." He said, going over to give them their burgers. He then returned to the counter. "Want to have yours here?" He asked.

"Yes please!" Lorelai smiled.

"We can play some cards after if you like?" He suggested.

"Oooh strip poker?" Lorelai grinned clapping her hands excitedly.

"No way." Luke said.

* * *

Back at the house, Emily and Richard were sat on the couch as Alice played quietly on the floor with her horses. Emily glanced at Richard and tried to tell him to do something but he gestured for her to do something. Emily took a deep breath before looking over at Alice. "What are you playing?" She asked.

"Horses." Alice said confused as it was so obvious.

Alice's expression made Richard laugh. "Yes Emily, that was a silly question."

Alice giggled which did make Emily smile. "Well ok then. May I play with you?" She asked even though it was way out of her comfort zone. She slowly sat down on the floor near her and took a horse.

"That's Jess' horse." Alice said.

"Oh. Ok." Emily said putting it back.

"That's daddy's. That's mommy's. That's Rory's and that's Jess'." She said pointing to different horses individually. She then picked up another horse. "You can have this one. This can be Grandma's horse." She smiled shyly, holding it out to her.

Emily smiled at hearing her call her Grandma. She took the horse from her. "Thank you. So what should I do?" She asked at a bit of a loss.

"You need to make a voice for it." Alice said. "Daddy does a deep voice." She giggled.

"Ok well how about this?" Emily said. Suddenly she made the horse speak in a high pitched voice.

Alice giggled. "You're funny." She grinned.

Emily smiled, pleased she had made her laugh. She glanced over at Richard who was smiling watching them. "How about we give your Grandpa his own horse as well and then he won't feel left out?" She smiled.

"Ok!" Alice grinned, picking up another horse. "Here Grandpa. You can have this one!"

Richard smiled at his granddaughter and sat down with them as well and started playing with them.

* * *

"Uh uh, four more please." Lorelai said handing four back. They had moved on to cards after she'd finished her burger.

Luke dealt her four more.

Lorelai looked at them deliberating. "Nope, four more." She said.

"You can't. Those are the four I dealt you." He said.

"Yes but they don't help me and my motto in life is discount anything that doesn't help me." She said pushing them back to him.

"You're impossible, you know that right?" Luke shook his head but gave her four more.

"Yep but that's why you love me!" Lorelai grinned.

Luke smirked. "God help me."

It was then that Luke glanced at his watch. "Whoa it's 9 already. We should head back." He said.

"Oh god yeh. That went quickly." Lorelai said surprised. She looked over at Sookie and Jackson who were still deep in conversation. "Hey guys, we have to get going. My parents are watching Alice and we said we wouldn't be too late."

"Oh sure!" Sookie said.

"Walk you home?" Jackson asked Sookie.

"I'd like that." She smiled. She then looked at Luke and Lorelai. "Thanks for tonight. Really." She said sincerely.

"Yeh thanks." Jackson smiled.

"No problem. Have a nice night." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeh bye guys." Luke said.

Lorelai smiled as she watched them leave. "Sort of reminds me of our first date huh?" She said.

Luke smiled. "Yeh that first date feeling is pretty great. The first touch, the first laugh. It's pretty cool."

"Yeh it is." Lorelai smiled. "We're lucky we found that."

"We definitely are." He smiled. He then locked up the diner and then they headed home.

They let themselves in. "Hello?" Lorelai called.

"Shh!" Emily said from the living room.

They went in and smiled as they saw Alice passed out on the couch, her head on Richard's lap.

"She fell asleep about half an hour ago. I didn't want to move her as she looked comfortable and I figured you would be home soon anyway."

"Yeh that's fine." Lorelai smiled. "You guys have fun?"

"Oh yes, your mother is an expert at making horses talk in high pitched voices." Richard chuckled.

Lorelai smirked. "Wow mom, pulled out the big guns huh?"

"She didn't want to play anything else." Emily said.

"Yeh she does like those horses." Luke nodded. "She was good?" He asked.

"Very." Emily smiled looking over at her granddaughter. She turned back to them. "She's a sweet girl. She's a credit to you both."

"Thanks mom." Lorelai said touched.

"Yes well we better get going." Emily said.

"Oh yeh sure." Lorelai said.

"Here let me." Luke said going over to the couch and carefully picking up Alice who stayed asleep in his arms. "I'll go put this one to bed. Thanks for watching her." he nodded at them.

Lorelai smiled at her parents. "Yeh thank you for coming really. It was a great help."

"Did you have a nice night?" Emily asked.

"Yeh it was good thanks." Lorelai smiled.

"Well then we'll see you Friday yes?"

"You'll see us Friday." Lorelai smiled. "Bye mom, bye dad."

She watched them leave and then sat down on the couch and turned on the tv, waiting for the others to return.

* * *

"That was such a bad movie!" Tristcan chuckled as they exited the movie theatre.

"The worst!" Jess smirked.

Rory and Kate laughed agreeing. Rory checked her watch. "Oh Jess, we should get back." She said. She glanced at Tristan. "You come by car?" She asked.

Tristan nodded.

"Walk you to it?" Rory smiled.

"Sure." He smiled.

Rory glanced at Jess who smiled. "You go ahead. I'll catch up."

Rory nodded and walked off with Tristan. Jess turned to Kate. "So you drive here or...?"

"Came by bus." She said. "There's one in a bout 10 minutes so I'll catch that."

"Ok." Jess said. "So..uh..I had fun tonight." He said awkwardly. He cringed at himself. He wasn't very good at this.

"Yeh it was fun." She smiled.

"Maybe..uh...maybe we can do it again sometime?" He suggested. "Maybe go for a meal before or something?"

"Jess..." Kate said.

Jess nodded, noticing the brush off. "It's cool. It was just a suggestion. No big deal."

Kate sighed. "Jess, I like you. I do. It's just...it's complicated. If you knew..."

"Knew what?" Jess asked.

Kate looked at him and then just found herself blurting it out. "I'm pregnant." She said.

"Wait, what?" Jess said totally shocked and confused. He took a minute to take in what she had just said. He then got angry. "So you're with someone already? Why didn't you just tell me that." He said.

"I'm not with anyone." Kate said quietly.

"But...the father?" Jess said confused.

"Bolted as soon as I told him. Said he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby." She said.

Jess' expression softened. "Jerk." He said. "So what...how long...are you keeping it?" He stammered not really knowing what to ask.

"I'm only a few weeks. I'm against abortions so yeh I'm keeping it." She nodded. She looked at Jess. "Look, I know this is a shock. Believe me, it was a shock to me. I really do like you Jess but I don't want you to have to deal with this. It's not fair on you." She said. She looked over and saw a bus come. "That's my bus. I'm sorry I just dropped this on you but I wanted you to understand why I wasn't letting myself get close to you. I..uh..I guess I'll see you around." She said. "Bye Jess." She said quietly.

Jess watched her as she rushed over to the bus to catch it. His head was spinning from what he had just heard in the last few minutes. He watched the bus disappear from sight and slowly turned and started to walk towards where Rory was waiting for him. All he could think about was how scared and alone Kate must feel but he had no idea what to do about it.

 **So quite a big twist at the end there! ;) What do you think? Please review and let me know! Thanks! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Aw thank you for all your lovely reviews! They really mean a lot to me! :)**

Chapter 14

It was a Saturday so Jess was working at the diner.

"You're quiet today." Luke commented as he passed Jess behind the counter.

"What? Oh I'm fine." Jess said.

"Really? Because both Taylor and Kirk came in today and you didn't make a sarcastic comment once." Luke said.

"Thought you wanted me to be more polite." Jess grumbled.

Luke looked at him. "You've been quiet since you went out to see that movie this week. What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." Jess said.

Luke sighed. "Look, you can talk to me. I might be able to help." He said.

Jess glanced at him. "It's complicated."

"Ok..." He said.

Jess sighed. "You know Kate?"

"That girl who you went to the movie with. Are you guys dating or something?" He asked.

Jess shook his head. "No. I wanted to but it's...just complicated." He sighed.

"How?" Luke asked.

"She's pregnant." Jess said quietly.

"What?" Luke said shocked.

"And before you ask, it wasn't me." Jess said dryly.

"Ok so she's with someone else? Is this why you've been moping around?" He asked.

Jess shook his head. "Apparently the father bolted as soon as she told him. He said he didn't want to have anything to do with her or the baby. I mean what sort of jerk does that?! I mean, I know because Rory and I are a product of that sort of jerk. I still don't understand why someone would run from their child." He said angrily.

"Me neither." Luke said, thinking about how Jimmy and Christopher had affected Rory and Jess.

Jess sighed. "I want to be there for her but she's told me she doesn't want me caught up in all this."

"Wait, you want to help her with the baby?" Luke asked surprised.

Jess shrugged. "I don't know but it's not fair that she has to do it alone. I mean she said her parents are being supportive so that's good I guess but I don't know. She's my friend."

"Jess, this would be a huge change and responsibility." Luke said cautiously.

"You did it for Lorelai." Jess pointed out.

"Yeh but Rory was already 8 when we met. She was already, well, Rory." He said.

"What, so I'm just meant to leave her to do all this by herself?" Jess said angrily. "She's 16, Luke! She's the age Lorelai was when she had Rory. I can't just stand around and do nothing!" He exclaimed. "I really like her." He admitted.

Luke sighed. "I don't know how you turned out to be such a great kid considering what's happened in the past." He said.

Jess shrugged. "Learnt from the best."

"Who?" Luke asked.

"Uh the guy who's been there for me in the last 8 years." Jess said.

"Stop it..." Luke said brushing off his compliment.

"It's true. You're right. Considering who my parents were, I should be in a detention centre right now but you took me in. I learnt what it was like to grow up with a proper family." He said.

Luke gave him a small smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "So you've really been thinking about this then huh?"

Jess nodded. "I don't know if she'll accept my help though."

"Well it's a huge thing, Jess. She knows that. She probably doesn't want you to be dragged into it. She wants you to have your own life." Luke said.

"I can still do that." Jess said. He looked at his uncle. "That first day you met Lorelai, you knew right? You knew you wanted to be with her. That she was the one?"

Luke nodded. "Yeh.."

"Well it's the same for me. I've never met anyone like Kate before. I really like her Luke." Jess said.

Luke sighed. "Look, you know I'll support you in whatever you decide but please at least take the weekend to think about it. This could change your life. Kate comes as a package deal now with her baby. You need to know that her baby will be her number one priority." He said.

"I know." Jess nodded. "Is mom at home?" He asked.

"Yeh she's got the day off today." He said.

"Can I take my break? I want to talk to her." Jess said.

"Yeh ok." Luke nodded.

Jess went and grabbed his coat and then walked towards the door.

"Jess?" Luke said.

Jess looked back.

"I'm proud of you." Luke said.

Jess gave him a small smile and then left.

* * *

Jess entered the house to find Lorelai and Rory watching tv while Alice was playing with some of her toys. "Hey.." He said.

"Oh hey! I thought you were working today?" Lorelai said.

"Yeh I am. On my break." He said sitting down next to them.

Rory glanced at him. "Are you ok?" She asked. She had noticed his quiet behaviour the last few days.

Jess turned and looked at Lorelai. "When you were pregnant with Rory, if you had a good, solid friend, say if you knew Luke back then and he wanted to stand by you and help you with Rory, would you have let him?" He asked.

Lorelai was taken aback by the question. "Uh, I don't know. I guess if he was serious, it would have been easier yeh." She said. She looked at Jess. "Why?" She asked cautiously.

"Kate's pregnant." He said.

"What?" Lorelai said shocked. "Did you...are you...?"

Jess shook his head. "We haven't even gone out yet." He then sighed. "The father apparently bolted as soon as he heard and said he wanted nothing to do with them." He said quietly.

"God, poor Kate." Lorelai said quietly. "Is she..uh..keeping it?"

Jess nodded. "She's against abortions."

"Was that what you and her were talking about outside the movie theatre this week?" Rory asked.

Jess nodded. "I asked her out and she said no. I felt stupid and just thought she wasn't interested but then she told me. She said how she didn't want to drag me into it. That it wasn't fair on me."

Lorelai looked at him. "You want to stand by her and help her?" She asked.

Jess nodded. "I really like her. She shouldn't have to do it alone."

"Aw Jess, this is a big responsibility. It's a baby." She said softly.

"I know but Luke did the same for you and Rory." Jess pointed out.

"Yeh but he was much older than you are now when we started dating and he started looking out for Rory." Lorelai said.

Jess sighed. "I just feel useless. She's my friend and she has to do this alone. She must be scared. She's 16. She's the age you were when you had Rory. Weren't you scared? Wouldn't it have helped to have someone help you?" He asked.

Lorelai thought back to that time and she had to admit Jess was right. She was terrified and, apart from her parents, she had noone. She sighed. "Yeh it would have." She admitted. She looked at Jess. "You know when you decide this, there's not turning back right?"

He nodded.

"God you're a great kid." Lorelai said quietly.

"How do I get her to believe I want to be there for both of them?" He asked.

"Prove it to her. If she thinks you're going to get bored and change your mind, she will never give you the time of day. That baby will be her number one priority. She'll want to feel safe." Lorelai said. "Have you talked to Luke about this?" She asked.

Jess nodded. "Just. He said pretty much the same thing you did."

"I just want you to know what a big deal this is and how much this will change your life if you commit to this." Lorelai said.

"I know." Jess said. "I can't let her go though. I just can't."

"She's really made an impression on you, hasn't she?" Lorelai smiled a little.

"I really like her." He admitted.

"Just don't rush into to anything, ok? Promise me that." She said.

He nodded. "I promise."

They all started focussing on the tv. Rory leant her head on Jess' shoulder. "She'll be lucky to have you." She said quietly.

Jess gave her a small smile. "I just want to help."

"You will." Rory assured him.

* * *

On Monday, Rory and Jess walked over to their lockers and Jess immediately saw Kate at hers. Rory went over to Tristan to give Jess some time with Kate.

"Hey." Jess said.

Kate gave him a tired smile. "Hi."

"Are you ok? You look pale." He said concerned.

"Morning sickness. It's been really bad recently." She said.

"Oh. Sorry." Jess said.

"I better get to my class." She said, going to walk off.

"Wait please." He said.

Kate turned back.

"I want to help." He said.

"Jess..." Kate sighed.

"No. I've been reading all these baby books over the weekend and it's a lot of work. Even more if you're doing this alone. You shouldn't have to deal with this by yourself. I want to be there for you. I want to help. Please!" Jess said.

"You've been reading baby books?" She asked quietly, surprised.

"Well yeh.." Jess said embarrassed. "I wanted to be able to help you when you needed it and I thought the only way I could do that was to research it." He said.

"Jess..." Kate said softly.

"I know! I know you said you don't want me to have to deal with this because it's not fair on me but don't I have say? I like you, Kate. I really like you and I want to stand by you. I don't want you to have to do this alone. Please. Let me in?" He asked.

Kate smiled a little and then walked forward and kissed him. "Ok." She said.

"Ok?" Jess asked, pulling away from the kiss surprise.

Kate nodded. "You're right. I can't do this alone. I'm terrified as it is. But Jess, this isn't something you can walk away from. You walk away and I won't give you another chance." She said.

Jess nodded. "I know. I promise you I won't walk away."

Kate smiled. "You're one of the special ones, aren't you?" She said softly.

"Just like his uncle." Rory smiled coming up to them. She smiled at Kate. "You're lucky to have him."

"I think I'm coming to learn that." Kate smiled.

"Come on, we'll be late for class." Tristan said.

The four of them then headed off to class, Jess putting his arm around Kate as they walked.

 **So what do you think? :) Please keep the reviews coming and let me know! I really love hearing what you think! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for your reviews! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! :)**

Chapter 15

Jess walked into school one day the following week. He smiled when he saw Kate over by the lockers. "Hey!" He said going over to her.

She turned round and he could tell she'd been crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"They know. Everyone knows." She said.

"Who knows what?" He asked.

"The school. My pregnancy. It's all round the school." She said.

"What, how?" Jess asked.

"Someone must have overheard us and spread it round the school. That's not all though..." Kate said quietly.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Someone said passing them. "Not heard of protection?"

Jess looked at Kate. "They think I'm the father?"

"They've seen us hanging around together. They're all assuming you are." Kate said. "I'm so sorry, Jess. This is why I didn't want you getting involved." She said upset.

"You two should be kicked out!" Someone else shouted, passing them.

Kate tried to hold her tears back. "I'm so sorry, Jess. Apparently they're having a meeting after school with Headmaster Charleston. All the parents want me out."

"Why can't you just tell them who the real father is?" Jess asked.

"I can't." She said quietly. "I just...I can't."

"Why not?" Jess asked. "I could get kicked out for this! God Kate, I'm going to stand by you but I need my education as well. I can't get kicked out!"

"It was my brother's roommate." She said quietly.

Jess stopped. "Your brother?"

"He's at Yale. I went to visit him one weekend and well, it just happened." She said quietly.

"Your brother's roommate? How old is he?" Jess asked.

"21." She said.

"Ah geez, Kate..." Jess said. "Did he..uh...make you?" He asked cautiously.

"No." Kate shook her head.

"Kate..."

"I swear. It wasn't like that." Kate assured him. "We both consented. It was a stupid weekend."

Jess sighed. "Does your brother know?"

"No and he can't. He'd kill him!" Kate said. "Noone knows. Well apart from him and you. Please, you can't tell anyone! My parents would hate me!"

"I thought you said they were being supportive." He said.

"They are but that's because they think it was some random guy at school." She admitted. "If they knew about this, well it would get out and it would bring shame on the family. They can't know." She said. "My parents are coming to this meeting after school. I don't know what to do, Jess. If all the parents band together, we could be out! Even if I am family, Headmaster Charleston won't have a choice!"

"Wait, family?" Jess asked confused.

Kate sighed. "Headmaster Charleston's my grandfather." She admitted.

"Wow." Jess said. "Well then surely he won't kick you out?"

"He might not have a choice. God Jess I'm so sorry! I didn't want you getting involved in this and now you might get kicked out because of me! It's all my fault!" She cried, not being able to hold back her tears this time.

Jess sighed. "Come here." He said pulling her into a hug. "It's going to be ok. Look, they don't need to find out about the real father." He said.

Kate looked up. "What, how?"

"Well everyone already thinks it's me. We don't need to correct them." He shrugged.

"No. I can't do that. You could get kicked out of school." She said.

"I said we were in this together right? I said I'd be there for you. I don't go back on my promises." He said.

"Rory's right. You are one of the special ones." Kate said quietly.

"I'll ring my mom and Luke and see if they can come to the meeting. You wouldn't want to argue against Lorelai and Luke could out rant anyone." He said. "We may not be kicked out."

Kate wiped her tears away. "I'm so sorry you got dragged into this."

"It's ok." Jess said. "Come on, let's get to class. We can worry about the meeting later." He said.

Kate nodded and followed him to class.

* * *

After school, the meeting took place in the hall and there was a big turnout. Kate saw Jess come in with Lorelai and Luke and went over to them. She hugged Jess. "You came." She said.

"I said I would." He said. "Come on, it'll be ok."

"Yeh don't worry Kate. We'll make sure they don't kick you out of school. Either of you." Lorelai smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

Soon the meeting started and it did't take long for the lynch mob to gang up on Kate and Jess.

"They should both be expelled! You can't have this scandal being associated with the school! I don't want my daughter having them around as role models." A mother said.

"Yeh they should not be allowed to be here! After what they did, they don't deserve it!" Another parent said.

"Hang on a minute!" Lorelai interrupted. "Kate made a mistake but I don't know why that should cost them their education!"

"This is ridiculous! How do you expect her to find a job to support her child if she doesn't get a good education?" Luke shouted out.

"Well then she shouldn't have been so stupid as to get knocked up at 16 then, should she?" Another mother stood up.

"And what's wrong with that?" Lorelai said angrily.

"Oh yeh that's right. You're Lorelai Gilmore." The mother said haughtily.

"Danes." Lorelai said.

"You're the scandal girl! You got pregnant when you were 16 as well." The mother announced to the group.

"Yeh and you know what? It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Rory's amazing and I wouldn't have changed it for anything." Lorelai said angrily.

"Well you obviously weren't a good role model for your son! He seems to have followed in your footsteps." She exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Kate suddenly shouted. "Just shut up!"

"Kate..." Her mom tried to say.

"No, I can't take this anymore! If you want to expel me then fine! But this has nothing to do with Jess!" She exclaimed. "He's not the father so leave him out of it!"

Jess looked up. "Kate, it's fine." He tried to say.

"No it's not! I'm not going to be responsible for you getting kicked out of school when all you're responsible is being an amazing friend." Kate said. She glared at the mother who was insulting Lorelai. "You should get off your high horse because the real father was your son!" She blurted out.

Jess put his head in his hands.

"What?" She said shocked. "Ben?"

"No not your son who goes here. Your other son. The one who goes to Yale. My brother's so called best mate!" She shouted. "It was him. So maybe you should stop insulting others and look at your own family!" She exclaimed. She looked at her parents' shocked parents. "Mom, dad, I'm so sorry but I can't lie anymore." She said.

Kate sat back down and suddenly there was more outrage. Soon the meeting was over. Jess wanted Kate to come back with him but she insisted he go home so he reluctantly did.

* * *

They were all sat in the living room at home, watching tv. Luke, Lorelai and Jess were sat on the couch while Rory was studying at the kitchen table and Alice had gone to bed. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Jess got up to go answer it. He was surprised to see Kate standing there with a suitcase and a tearstained face. "Kate, what happened?"

"I have nothing!" She cried. "I've got no education and now no house! I didn't know what to do, where to go."

"What do you mean no house?"

"My parents kicked me out. They said I brought shame to their family after they learnt about what really happened. I didn't know where to go. My grandpa tried to calm the parents but he had no choice. I've got nothing." She cried.

"Hey, shh, come here." He said pulling her into a hug.

"I didn't know where to go." She said.

He led her into the living room. "You can stay here tonight and then we'll sort something out."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

Jess looked over at his mom and Luke. "Is that ok?" He asked.

"Of course. Stay as long as you like." Lorelai smiled sympathetically at her.

"Would you like some food? We've just finished dinner and we've got some left." Luke said.

Kate nodded. "Yes please. Thanks." She said quietly.

"Come and sit down." Lorelai smiled warmly at her.

Jess led her to the couch and sat down next to her. Luke then brought her some food. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Kate asked.

"Us teenage moms have to stick together." Lorelai smiled.

Kate smiled a little. "I had no idea you had Rory when you were 16." She said. "I'm sorry about what that mother said to you at the meeting."

"I've heard worse." Lorelai shrugged it off.

"I'm still sorry. For everything. For dragging you all into this." Kate said quietly. "I never meant to."

"Hey, you don't need to apologise. Any friend of Jess' is part of the family. You need any help, you ask us ok?" Luke said.

"Thanks." Kate smiled shyly.

Lorelai smiled up at her husband.

Later that evening, the doorbell rang again. "It's like piccadilly circus in here tonight!" Lorelai joked. She went to answer the door and found and older looking boy, with his hands in his pockets. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Uh yeh, is Kate here?" He asked.

"Who's asking?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm Adam. I'm her brother." He said.

"Oh. She's had a long day. She doesn't need anymore trouble." Lorelai said.

"I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want to make sure she's ok. Please? She's my little sister." He said.

Lorelai could see his worry was genuine so let him in. "She's in there." She said pointing to the living room.

"Kate!" Adam said spotting her on the couch.

"Adam!" Kate said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom and dad called. They told me everything." He said.

Kate looked at her shoes. "Oh." She said quietly.

"I kicked Mike out of our dorm." He admitted.

"What?" Kate said surprised looking up.

"He admitted everything. He started insulting you so I kicked him out. Maybe before giving him a little right hook." He admitted.

Kate smiled a little. "You really kicked him out?"

"Yep." He said.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Look, I'm not here to call you out on what happened. I'm here because I'm your brother and I love you. I'd offer you somewhere to live but I can't really considering I'm at Yale." He said apologetically.

"I understand." She said.

"What does it take for your big brother to get a hug eh?" He smiled.

Kate smiled and rushed over to him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry." She said.

"We'll get through this ok? I promise. I'll always be here for you." He said.

"I love you." She said quietly.

"I love you too." He said. He then looked over at Jess. "Jess, right?"

Jess nodded standing up. Adam went over to him and held out his hand. "Thank you." He said.

"For what?" Jess asked shaking his hand.

"For looking out for my sister. I heard what you've done for her, how you've been there for her and I appreciate it." He smiled.

Jess nodded.

"Uh, Kate?" Luke awkwardly interrupted. "If you need somewhere to stay, the apartment above my diner's empty." He said. "Would be a waste to keep it empty. It's yours if you want it." He offered.

"Are you seriously?" Kate asked shocked. Her face then fell. "I can't afford rent though."

"Don't worry about that." He said. "You can work at the diner if you like. Earn some money there so you have some to support your kid when they arrive."

Kate couldn't believe it and before she knew what she was doing, she went over and hugged him. "Rory's right. You and Jess are amazing." She said quietly.

Luke awkwardly reciprocated the hug. He smiled. "Yeh well I wasn't there for someone who needed my help when she was growing up. She went down a wrong path and I regretted not being able to do something to help." He said glancing over at Jess who knew he was talking about Luke. "I'm not going to let that happen again. You need anything, an advance on your wages or anything, you come to me ok?" He said.

Kate nodded. "I don't know how to thank you. All of you." She said looking around at the family.

"You don't need to." Jess smiled

Kate couldn't believe how nice they were all being. She was so lucky to have found Jess and now his family. Maybe everything would be ok after all.

 **So what do you think? I know it's been sort of Kate/Jess focussed so far but I will have more of everyone else soon! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you for all your support for the last chapter! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Just to say I'm going away tomorrow for the weekend so I won't be able to update until Sunday, sorry! Here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 16

"I can't believe Luke's actually letting me stay here." Kate said to Jess as they were unpacking her stuff.

"Yeh well that's Luke for you." Jess said.

"You're just like him, you know. I mean I know he's your uncle but you could just as well be father and son." Kate smiled.

Jess smiled at that. "I kind of wish we were." He admitted.

Kate looked up. "So you never knew your biological father?" She asked cautiously.

Jess shook his head. "No. He ran out on me and Liz when I was really young." He said.

"Liz?" Kate asked.

"My biological mom." He said. "But that's all they are to me. Biology. Biology doesn't make a family. In my eyes, Lorelai is my mom." He said.

Kate smiled. "Well I think you've got an amazing family. I still can't believe they're helping me. They have no obligation to." She said.

"Well you and Lorelai sort of have similar stories." He said.

"Yeh." She said. "I didn't know she was 16 when she had Rory. How did she do it?" She asked.

Jess shrugged. "From what I've heard, she lasted a year at her parents' house and then couldn't take it any more. They wanted to control her and bring up Rory the way they wanted to. They hired nannies and Lorelai hated that. So she left and got on the bus. She ended up her in Stars Hollow." He said. "She met Mia who gave her a job and somewhere to live."

"Mia?"

"Yeh she owns the inn Lorelai works at." He said. "You know the potting shed at the back of the inn?"

Kate nodded.

"That's where they lived until Rory was 9." Jess said.

"Wow." Kate said surprised. "They had..."

"Nothing. Yeh." Jess nodded. "But Lorelai worked full time and saved all her money and they finally had enough to buy a house."

"God that's amazing. I'll never be like that..." Kate said quietly.

"Yes you will." Jess assured her. "You'll be an amazing mom. And if you need help, then I'm here and so's my mom and Luke and Rory." He smiled. "You'll be great, Kate."

Kate sighed. "I just can't believe this is all happening. I mean, a couple of weeks ago I had no worries at all. Now I'm pregnant, got no education and have been kicked out of my house."

Jess went over and gave her a hug. "And you'll overcome all of this. When you have that kid, you'll find it all worthwhile. Speak to mom. She'll tell you." He said.

Kate nodded. "Yeh maybe I will."

Suddenly they heard squealing coming from downstairs. "Sounds like they've arrived." Jess smirked.

Kate laughed as Luke appeared at the door. "How's it going up here? Got everything sorted?" He asked.

"Pretty much." Jess said. "What was all the squealing about?"

"Oh I don't know. Sookie got them tickets to this concert or something." He said. "The Bangles or something I think."

"Ok now I understand the squealing." Jess smirked.

"She's trying to make me go with her. Apparently they've got four tickets." He grunted.

Jess chuckled. "Aw I'm sure you'll love it, Uncle Luke."

"Yeh well there's no saying no to her so could you watch Alice tonight?" He asked.

"Oh. Well I was meant to be meeting Tristan..." Jess said.

Luke sighed. "You can't reschedule? I will never live it down if I say no."

"I could watch her." Kate volunteered.

"Really?" Luke asked.

"Yeh I mean I sort of need the practice plus you've been so nice to me. It's the least I can do." She smiled.

"You really don't mind?" Luke asked.

"Honestly I'd love to." Kate smiled.

"Thanks." Luke smiled.

They then heard Lorelai and Rory calling him from downstairs. He rolled his eyes. "I'm being summoned. Come round about 6 tonight?" He said to Kate.

"Yeh that's fine." She smiled.

"Ok thanks." He said and then went back downstairs.

* * *

That evening, there was a big change of plan when Paris, Madeline and Louise unexpectedly turned up as Paris wanted to get their assignment. Jess had to ring Tristan as they were all in the group. When Lorelai suggested giving the tickets to them as part of a bonding strategy, Madeline and Louise jumped at the chance of going to the concert. Paris needed a bit more persuading but reluctantly agreed to go. Jess and Tristan opted out as there were only four tickets and it wasn't exactly their taste in music. Lorelai still dragged Luke along with Sookie but they were going to get cheap seats when they got there. Kate arrived at the house at 6 to watch Alice.

Once everyone had left for the concert, Jess watched Kate with his little sister and smiled when he saw them getting along. Alice was fussy when it came to who she liked so he knew it was a good sign when she was happily playing and chatting with Kate.

"So you still fancy going out?" Tristan asked him.

Jess sighed. "To be honest, I'm sort of tired due to that intense study session." He said.

Tristan saw him watching Kate and smirked. "Sure." He said. "Or you want to stay with your girlfriend."

"What? No..." He said looking over at him.

Tristan laughed. "Look it's no problem. We can hang here if you want."

"Really? You don't mind?" He asked.

"No. To be honest, I'm quite tired anyway." Tristan said. "I could go home if you like?"

"No." Jess said. "Stay. We can hang out and play video games or something."

"Really? You don't want to..." He said gesturing to Kate.

"Nah I think it might be good for her to have some time with Alice by herself." Jess said. "Come on, the games are in my room."

"Ok cool." Tristan said.

"We're going upstairs. You going to be ok?" Jess asked Kate.

"Yeh you go. We'll be fine. Won't we Alice?" Kate smiled at Alice.

Alice nodded happily.

"Ok, see you later then." Jess smiled, ruffling Alice's hair as he passed.

* * *

Meanwhile at the concert, Rory and the others had found their seats. "Wow this is an amazing view!" Rory said.

Paris nodded. She glanced at Madeline and Louise who had their backs turned to the stage and were talking to two boys sat behind them and rolled her eyes.

"What are they looking at?" Rory asked.

"One guess." Paris said.

Rory looked and saw the boys. She turned back round.

"Was I right?" Paris smirked.

"You were right." Rory said.

As the concert started, Rory smiled when she saw Paris getting into it. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. However, during Eternal Flame, Madeline and Louise leaned over and announced they were going to a party with the boys they had met. Rory tried to stop them but she failed.

After the concert, Rory and Paris were stood at the front of the arena to wait for her mom, Luke and Sookie. "I can't believe Madeline and Louise would just leave like that." She said.

"They've done it before." Paris said.

"Nice." Rory said sarcastically, realising Paris had probably experienced it before.

"Yeh well..." She shrugged.

Rory sighed. "Well I guess we wait here for my mom to find us." She said.

"Ok." Paris said.

They stood there awkwardly for a minute before Rory looked at Paris. "Look, Paris, about Tristan..." She said.

"It's fine." Paris said.

"No. I know you like him. I just want you to know I didn't deliberately try to steal him from you or anything. I mean at first I thought he was the most annoying person on earth." Rory rambled. "I just...I fell for him. Genuinely."

Paris looked at her. "It's fine." She said quietly.

"Paris.." Rory said not believing her.

"No really." She said. "I realised as soon as Tristan saw you for the first time that he'd fallen for you. It was different." She shrugged.

"Different?" Rory asked.

"Different from what he's like with other girls. He never tries as hard as he did with you. He must really like you." Paris gave her a small smile.

Rory smiled back. "Yeh well the feeling's mutual."

"Good. Because mess him around and I'll have to kill you." Paris smirked.

Rory smirked. "Consider me warned."

Paris was quiet for a moment. "Rory...I know I haven't exactly been welcoming to you since you arrived at Chilton.."

"Understatement of the century." Rory laughed.

"Yeh well I'm not very good with people. I'm not very sociable. I'm..." She tried to say.

Rory understood what she was trying to say. "It's fine." She smiled.

Suddenly, Lorelai and Luke appeared.

"Where's Sookie?" Rory asked.

"She left after the concert ended. Jackson called." Lorelai smirked.

"Enough said." Rory said quickly.

"Where are the other girls?" Luke asked noticing only two of them.

"They left." Rory said quietly.

"What?" Luke said.

"They met these guys and they left. There was a party or something." Rory said.

"Didn't you try to stop them?" Luke asked.

"She did. But Madeline and Louise don't listen to anyone when they have something in their mind." Paris said.

Lorelai sighed. "Where's this party?"

"Around the corner I think." Rory said.

"Come on." Luke said leading the way.

"Are they seriously going to try and find them?" Paris asked Rory quietly.

"Yep and I don't rate their chances if Luke finds them." Rory sighed.

They found the block and flat pretty quickly and knocked on the door. A guy opened it.

"That's one of the guys!" Rory told Luke and her mom.

"Ok step aside skippy." Lorelai said as her and Luke went in and spotted Madeline and Louise immediately.

"Miss us?" Luke said sarcastically.

"Out. Now." Lorelai said sternly.

"How naive are you?" Luke exclaimed. "Why do you think it would be ok to go to a random party with two random guys? And to drink stuff you don't know? You could have been drugged or hurt!"

Lorelai put a reassuring hand on his arm. "He's right. It's stupid to go somewhere without knowing where you're going! They could have been perverts or something. I can't wait to talk to your parents. I think we might talk all night long." She said.

"Yeh and next time you pull something like this, if you're stupid enough to do it again, it will not be infront of our kid ok?" Luke said angrily.

"Yeh." The two girls said meekly.

"Good, now let's motor." Lorelai said.

As they went to leave, Paris turned to Rory. "I think I may love your parents right this moment." She smirked.

* * *

They all headed home and Luke offered to give Kate a ride back to the diner.

"Oh no it's fine. I can walk." She said.

"It's dark. You shouldn't walk alone in this. I'll give you a lift." Luke said.

"I shouldn't argue with him. He won't budge." Lorelai smiled giving her a wink.

Kate laughed. "Ok, let me just grab my coat." She said.

She then got into the truck and Luke drove her back to the diner. "So Alice was ok?" He asked.

"Oh yeh, she was great." Kate smiled. "No problems."

"Good." Luke smiled.

Kate sighed. "How am I going to do this?"

Luke glanced across at her. "You'll just do it. You'll have to."

"I'm scared." She admitted.

"That's natural." Luke assured her. "But you've got lots of people round you to help and support you. We're not going anywhere."

Kate gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Luke parked next to the diner and they both got up. However, as they went towards the door, Luke saw a figure standing on the doorstep. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"About time!" The woman said turning round.

Luke froze. "Rachel..." He said.

"Long time no see." She smiled. "How's it going?"

 **I know it's mean to leave you on a cliffhanger but I need something for you to come back for on Sunday! ;) Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Yeh, yeh, I know I said I wouldn't update til Sunday but thought I'd treat you to one last chapter before then! Enjoy! :)**

Chapter 17

Luke just stood there not knowing what to do.

"Uh...hi, I'm Kate." Kate said trying to break the tension.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Rachel smiled.

"Uh yeh uh Kate's staying in the apartment." Luke said finding his voice.

"With you?" Rachel asked surprised.

"Uh no, I don't um live there anymore." Luke said.

Kate looked between them knowing there was obviously history between them. "I'm going to go up. Thanks for the lift back." Kate said and then disappeared inside.

"Uh come on in." Luke said in a daze and walked into the diner. He sat down at one of the tables and Rachel did the same.

"So you finally brought a new place then?" Rachel smiled.

"Yeh.." He said.

"I always thought that place was too small to live in." Rachel laughed.

"It was fine." Luke said.

"So who's the girl?" Rachel asked.

"Uh friend of Jess, well girlfriend, sort of." Luke said.

"Jess?" Rachel asked.

"My nephew." He said.

"Oh, Liz's son?" Rachel asked. "Liz is back in Stars Hollow?"

"No, uh Jess lives with me now." He said.

"Oh right." She said surprised. "That must be nice."

"Why are you back?" He asked.

Rachel sighed. "I was at the airport and I saw a flight to Hartford leaving and before I knew it, I was on it and here." She said. "I missed you, Luke. Didn't you miss me?"

Luke sighed rubbing his face with his hands and adjusting his cap. "Rachel, I'm married." He said.

Rachel was clearly surprised. "Oh..." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry..." Luke said.

"Why are you sorry?" Rachel asked still a bit surprised.

Luke shrugged. "Because you came all the way here and I've..."

"Moved on?" Rachel finished for him.

Luke sighed. "I've been married for 7 years." He said.

Rachel gave him a small smile. "I guess that's my fault for not returning." She said.

Luke looked up at her. "Rachel..."

"Are you happy?" She asked.

Luke smiled. "Yeh. Really happy." He said.

"Good." Rachel smiled. "You deserve that. Tell me about your wife."

"What?" Luke said confused.

"Come on, I want to know who finally got you." Rachel joked.

"Her name's Lorelai. She's amazing." Luke smiled. "She's got a daughter too. Rory. She's 16, just like Jess."

"Wow, how old is Lorelai?" Rachel asked.

"She had Rory when she was 16. Brought her up all by herself whilst also working full time. Pretty amazing really." He said.

"Sounds it." Rachel said. "So you, the man who hates kids, took on a kid as well?" She joked.

Luke smirked. "Rory was different. I adopted her. Her dad wasn't there for her and we got close. Lorelai and Rory came to the diner daily so I knew them pretty well before."

"So you live with them and Jess then?" Rachel asked.

"Yeh and Alice, Lorelai and my daughter. And soon another one. Lorelai's pregnant again." Luke smiled.

"Things really have changed around here." Rachel said.

Luke chuckled. "Yeh. But we're a family. Rory and Jess are inseparable, pretty much like brother and sister. Jess came to us when he was 9. Liz, well she wasn't doing great. Jess didn't want to go back so Lorelai and I applied for joint custody."

"Wow." Rachel said. She smiled at him. "But you're happy?"

"I'm happy." Luke smiled.

"Good, you deserve it." Rachel smiled.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Rachel shook his head. "No, I missed my chance. Luke, you're one of my oldest friends. I've always just wanted you to be happy."

"Thank you." Luke smiled.

"So I guess I should ask if there's somewhere to stay around here?" Rachel said.

Luke chuckled. "Yeh. Lorelai runs the Independence Inn here. I'm sure there's a room there." He said.

"Ok thanks." Rachel said. "You better get back to your family." She smiled. "Maybe I can meet Lorelai before I leave?"

Luke nodded. "Yeh, maybe." He said.

Luke watched as Rachel left and headed off to the inn. He let out a deep breath and then slowly got up and went to his truck to drive home.

* * *

Luke walked inside and went through to the living room. Only Lorelai was there watching tv. She turned round and smiled when she saw him. "There you are! What took you so long?" She asked.

Luke sighed and sat down next to her. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said.

"Luke?" Lorelai said.

Luke looked over at her. "Rachel was at the diner." He said.

Lorelai was shocked. "Rachel? As in your Rachel? As in your school sweetheart Rachel?"

"Yep." Luke said. "Apparently she was at the airport in god knows where and saw a flight to Hartford and took it."

"So...you were late because you were with Rachel?" Lorelai asked worried. She knew how much Luke had loved Rachel. The whole town thought they were going to get married.

"I just invited her into the diner so we could talk. I asked her what she was doing back." He said.

"And?"

"She said she didn't know but she had missed me." Luke said.

Lorelai's heart dropped. "And you said what?"

Luke saw her worried face and reached over and took hold of her hand. "I told her I was married. Happily married." He said.

Lorelai let out a relieved breath. "What did she say?"

"Well she was surprised to start with but then she was...happy for me." Luke said. "She said it was her fault for not returning earlier."

"She was happy for you?" Lorelai asked dubiously.

"Rachel's not the jealous type, Lorelai." Luke assured her. "She's my oldest friend. She wants me to be happy. And I told her I was really happy. I told her about you and Rory and Jess and Alice. Everything."

Lorelai nodded. "So where's she staying?"

Luke grimaced. "Ah, I may have mentioned the inn. She met Kate so knew the apartment was taken. I didn't know where else to recommend." He said. "I'm sure she won't stay long. She'll probably get another assignment or something soon." He said.

"It's fine. She couldn't really sleep in the gazebo, could she?" Lorelai smiled.

"Yeh well Kirk has that." Luke smirked.

Lorelai laughed. "Poor Kirk."

Luke chuckled. He looked at her. "I want you to know that Rachel was in the past. I admit she was a big part of my past but she'll only ever be friend. I don't have feelings for her anymore, not like that. I love you and I love our family." He said sincerely.

Lorelai smiled. "I know." She said. "I trust you Luke. I guess I was just a bit shocked to find out your school sweetheart was back in town." She said.

"Yeh was a bit of a shock for me as well. I never thought I'd see her again." Luke admitted.

Lorelai looked at the clock. "It's late. Let's go to bed." She smiled.

"Yes please." Luke said and they both headed upstairs.

* * *

The following morning, Lorelai was behind the desk when a woman with wavy brown hair approached her. "Lorelai?" She asked.

"Let me guess, you're Rachel." Lorelai smiled.

"That's me." Rachel smiled. "Look, I hope it's not too weird that I stayed here. I will be out of your hair soon."

"No it's fine." Lorelai said.

"So I hear you were the lucky one to end up with Luke?" Rachel said.

"Yeh. Although I do tell him he's the lucky one." Lorelai joked.

"Well naturally." Rachel laughed. "Look, I'm not here to cause trouble ok? I know Luke and I have history but he's the happiest I've ever seen him and I think that's probably down to you. I had my chance and I blew it." She said. "I was hoping maybe we could be friends?" She suggested.

Lorelai gave her the once over and could tell she was being genuine. "Well I guess we could pass notes on Luke." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

Rachel laughed. "Oh yeh, Luke would love that!"

Lorelai grinned.

"Anyway, I'm just going off to explore a bit." She said holding up her camera. "It was really nice to meet you." She smiled.

"Yeh you too." Lorelai smiled, starting to warm to her. She watched her walk away. "Oh Rachel?" She said.

"Yeh?" She turned around.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like here." Lorelai smiled.

"Thanks." Rachel smiled.

* * *

That evening, Stars Hollow was holding the Firelight Festival. Rachel watched from the side with her camera as she saw Lorelai and Luke arrive. She could tell Luke was already complaining about it but she smirked when she saw Lorelai say something to him which resulted in Luke rolling his eyes but then give her a smile. She held up her camera and took a few photos of them. She then watched as a girl and boy came up to them, the boy holding the hand of a young girl. She realised this must have been the rest of the family. She watched them for a bit and smiled at how much they just fit together. She could tell Luke was happy. Part of her was sad because she had missed her chance but most of her was happy for him. Luke was her oldest friend and she genuinely wanted him to be happy. She watched as that girl from the diner came up to them and started talking to Jess.

Throughout the evening, Rachel observed them all, taking photos. She eventually decided to go up to them. She saw Lorelai and Luke sit down on a bench. "Hey." She smiled.

"Oh hey! Came to join the madness?" Luke asked.

"He's not changed his opinions of this town's festivals then?" Rachel asked Lorelai.

"Oh no. That's one thing he will always rant about. Oh and Kirk." Lorelai grinned.

"Oh well that's a given." Rachel laughed.

"I am here you know!" Luke said.

Lorelai grinned. "I know. You're the person who's not asked me to dance yet." She joked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't dance." He said.

"I beg to differ and I've got the wedding video to prove it." Lorelai grinned.

Luke just shook his head.

"I think that was a hint, Luke." Rachel said.

"Definitely a hint." Lorelai agreed nodding her head.

"You better do it now Luke or Kirk might ask her." Rachel joked.

"How is it that you're both ganging up on me already?" Luke exclaimed.

"Go on Luke. Do what your wife wants." Rachel grinned.

"Urghhh!" He groaned. He stood up and held out his hand to Lorelai. "Lorelai, would you like to dance?" He asked.

"Why Luke, how could I decline such an heartfelt offer like that?" Lorelai grinned, taking his hand.

"And I thought just one of you was work." He muttered. "I expected more from you." He said pointing at Rachel.

"Sorry. Guess it's just women power." Rachel joked. She laughed as she saw him mutter something else as he led Lorelai over to the dancefloor. She took out her camera again and started taking photos of them. She looked round and smiled. Maybe it wasn't so bad to be here after all.

 **Hope you liked it! :) Review and let me know what you think! I love hearing your comments! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey! I'm so sorry it's been longer than I said! I was away longer than I thought I would be. But I'm back now so normal service can now resume! :) Here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 18

It was Friday so they all went to the Gilmore Mansion for dinner. However it wasn't a normal dinner as Richard's mother had decided to visit on a spontaneous visit, putting Emily on edge.

Emily led them all in and Trix enjoyed meeting Rory for the first time in years and Jess and Alice for the first time ever. She also approved of Luke. "So Lorelai, you finally found a man?" Trix said.

"Yes I did." Lorelai smiled, reaching over and holding Luke's hand who smiled at her.

"And I see you got your hair under control." Trix commented.

"Oh yes, it took some time but I went to a support group and then bought a brush." Lorelai joked.

"And I see you've not lost your wit." She said.

"Nope." Lorelai said.

"Well good. And you run your own inn?" Trix asked.

"Yes I do." Lorelai smiled.

"It's a great place, always busy." Luke added, smiling at her proudly.

"And Lucas, you own a diner?" She asked turning her attention to him.

"It's Luke." He said. "And yeh, it used to be my dad's hardware shop. But I wasn't really into the hardware business so I turned it into a diner."

"Well I can only imagine Emily's reaction when she realised her daughter was dating and then married a diner owner. Tell me Luke, did she make you feel insignificant? Emily has only ever wanted a rich man with a good society background for Lorelai." Trix laughed, enjoying poking fun at Emily. "You can tell me Luke."

Luke glanced over at Emily who looked hurt and humiliated. He looked back at Trix. "Actually Emily has been nothing but welcoming and warm to me." He said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, including Emily.

"That's nice but it's clear you're lying. We all know what Emily is like. She has always wanted Lorelai with who she wants. Personally, I don't mind so long as my granddaughter is happy and I can see you make her happy. Don't worry about offending Emily." Trix tried.

Luke glanced over at Richard who was obviously not going to say anything. "Like I said, Emily's been great." He repeated.

Luckily then the maid came in and announced that dinner was ready and the subject was dropped.

"Are these new chairs, Grandma?" Rory asked trying to get her involved in the conversation.

"Yes they are." Emily smiled. "Although my local antiques shop has closed so I don't know where I will get any future ones from." She said.

"Hey, why don't you come to Stars Hollow? My best friend Lane's mom owns an antiques shop. You can get some great stuff there." Rory suggested.

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yeh, if you come tomorrow morning, I can give you a proper Stars Hollow tour too!" Rory smiled.

Emily smiled. "I'd love to. Thank you."

Rory smiled and she caught Luke's eye who smiled at her and nodded approvingly.

* * *

The following day, Lorelai had gone to the inn and Luke had gone to the diner leaving Rory, Jess and Alice at home. Jess was going to watch Alice while Rory showed her Grandma round.

Once Emily arrived, Rory took her to Kims Antiques first. They opened the door and they started looking round. "Rory!" Lane smiled coming over to them.

"Hey!" Rory smiled. "Grandma this is Lane. Lane this is my Grandma."

"Nice to meet you." Emily smiled.

"You too." Lane smiled.

After Emily had done some haggling with Mrs Kim, they headed back out.

"So I was thinking maybe we could grab some lunch and then we can go to the inn." Rory suggested.

"Sounds good." Emily nodded.

"So where would you like to eat?" Rory asked.

"What about Luke's?" Emily asked.

"Really?" She asked surprised.

"You always rave about the food there. I haven't tried it yet so I thought it'd be nice." Emily said.

"Ok." Rory smiled.

They headed to the diner and went in, jingling the bells as they opened the door. They were greeted by Kate who was working that day. "Hey Rory!" She smiled.

"Hey Kate!" Rory smiled. "Grandma, this is Kate. She's Jess' girlfriend." She said.

"Nice to meet you." Emily said.

"You too." Kate smiled. "Sit anywhere you like. I'll come over and get your orders in a bit. Coffee?" She asked.

"Yes please." Rory smiled.

"Be right back." Kate said.

"Thanks." Rory said leading her Grandma over to a free table.

"I didn't know Jess had a girlfriend." Emily said.

"It's quite recent. He's quite private." Rory said.

"She's pregnant." Emily said.

"How did you...?" Rory asked surprised.

"I can tell." She said. "Jess'?"

"No. The father doesn't want anything to do with her or the baby. Jess wants to help her." Rory said.

"That's a big responsibility." Emily said.

"Yeh I know. And Jess knows. But he really likes her. They're good together." Rory smiled.

Kate then came over to take their orders. As they enjoyed the food, Emily watched Luke come out of the kitchen every now and again and go round the diner, filling coffee and giving food out. When it was time to pay, Emily insisted she pay and went up to the counter. Luke came out and saw her standing there with her purse.

"Family's on the house." He said.

"Oh. Thank you." Emily said putting her purse away. "Why did you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" He asked.

"You know what. Why did you tell Richard's mother what you said about me?" Emily asked.

Luke shrugged. "I don't like it when people get talked down to. It's mean." He said.

Emily looked at him for a moment. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Luke looked up at her and nodded. "You should talk to Richard. Tell him how you feel." He said.

"Order up!" Caesar called.

"Sorry, I need to go." Luke said. "Talk to Richard." He said.

Emily watched him go back to the kitchen and then slowly left with Rory. She knew she had gotten Luke wrong. She was determined to make it right.

* * *

That evening, Luke and Kate were still working at the diner. "I just need to pop to Dooses'. You going to be ok for a minute?" He asked Kate.

"Yeh sure, it's not busy." Kate smiled.

"Ok, I won't be long." Luke said grabbing his coat and leaving.

Kate was filling up Miss Patty's coffee when she heard the door open. "Sit anywhere. I will be with you in a minute." She said without looking up.

"I need to talk to you." A voice said.

Kate whipped her head up at that voice. "M..Mike...What are you doing here?" She asked.

"To talk to you." He glared at her. "You said you wouldn't say anything about us! Now you've ruined everything! I've been kicked out of the dorm and my family's ignoring me."

"Well you should have thought about that before." Kate snapped.

Mike grabbed hold of her wrist. "You don't talk to me like that! You begged me for it."

"Let go of me!" Kate snapped, starting to feel a little worried.

"No, I get to say what I want!" Mike shouted.

"I've got customers. Please just leave!" Kate said.

Mike looked round and noticed that everyone was staring at them. "Fine." He said still holding her wrist tightly and dragging her to the back of the diner to the storeroom and then locked the door. "Now we're alone." He said.

"What do you want?" Kate shouted, getting scared now.

"I want to ruin your life like you ruined mine! If you'd not be such a slut, we wouldn't be in this situation!" He shouted.

"It takes two to make a baby you know!" Kate shouted. "Just because you're a selfish jerk who wants to take no responsibility doesn't mean you get to come here and shout at me!" She soon regretted that because she suddenly saw Mike turn and suddenly he raised a fist.

She closed her eyes, terrified, waiting for the impact but it never came. Suddenly he heard a grunt and a shout and she opened her eyes to see Luke forcefully pulling Mike off her and dragging him out. She could feel herself shaking and suddenly felt tears fall.

Luke dragged Mike out of the diner and forcefully threw him out. "If I see you anywhere near Kate again, next time I will call the police! Now get lost!" He barked, glaring at him. Luke then went back in and went to the storeroom where he found Kate in a state. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to do. Slowly, he walked towards her. "He's gone." He said. Before he knew it, Kate had thrown her arms round him and was crying into his chest. He awkwardly reciprocated. "It's ok." He tried to comfort her. "He's not coming back."

After a few minutes, Kate pulled away a little embarrassed. "Sorry." She said quietly.

"It's fine." He said. "Why don't you go on up to the apartment? I'll make you something to eat."

Kate nodded. They left the store room and Luke watched her disappear behind the curtain. He then went and grabbed the diner's phone and dialled a number. "Jess?"

"Hey." Jess said.

"Could you come to the diner? Is Rory there to watch Alice?" He asked.

"Uh yeh. What's wrong? Aren't you locking up soon?" Jess asked confused.

"Something's happened to Kate. This guy came in shouting the odds apparently. I was at Dooses and came back and Miss Patty filled me in. I think it was her ex. He was about to hit her when I went in." He said, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "Anyway, she's in a bit of a state and I thought she might need you." He said. "Can you come?"

"I'll be right there." Jess said hanging up the phone.

Jess was there in now time and went up to the apartment. "Kate?"

Kate saw him and ran over and hugged him. "It was Mike. He was shouting at me saying I'd ruined his life. He dragged me to the storeroom and he was just so angry...I don't know what would have happened if Luke hadn't come in when he had." She cried.

Jess held her tightly. "It's ok." He comforted her.

"He called me slut. He said I was begging for it!"

"What?" Jess said angrily.

"He was so angry..." Kate said quietly.

"Well you're ok now. He's not going to come back." Jess said.

"What if he does?" Kate asked worried.

"Then he will have to answer to Luke and me next time." Jess said.

Kate gave him a small smile. "Like uncle, like nephew..."

Jess smiled a little. "I can stay here tonight if you like? If it would make you feel safer?" He suggested.

"No need." Luke said appearing at the doorway. "Kate, you're coming to ours tonight." He said.

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm fine." She lied, not wanting to make a fuss.

"No arguments." Luke said. "You're staying at ours tonight. I won't take no for an answer."

Kate smiled a little. "Thanks." She said quietly.

"Good. I'll just go lock up and then we can go." He said disappearing.

 **I hope it was worth the wait! Please review and let me know what you think! :) Thanks! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow, 100 reviews! I can't believe it! Thank you so much for your continued support with this story! Here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 19

Kate was walking through the square when she spotted Mike watching her. She thought he had left. She started walking a bit faster but Mike ran up to her. "Kate, wait!" He said.

"Leave me alone." Kate said quietly.

"Look, I don't want any trouble." He said. "I just want to talk!"

Kate turned to him. "Well I don't want to talk to you!" She snapped. "I want nothing to do with you!"

"I'm trying to be reasonable here." Mike said getting angry. "Neither of us wanted this. Why don't you just save us both a favour and get rid of it?"

Kate glared at him. "And that is why I want nothing to do with you. I would never get rid of my child. Ever!"

"We're too young to be parents!" Mike argued.

"Good thing you're not going to be one then!" Kate retorted. "So there, you're off the hook. Forget about your kid. Our kid's going to have a good father. One who actually cares!"

"Who, that boy with the hair gel?" Mike said angrily.

"Yeh! The guy who loves me and wants to take care of both of us. Now I have to go so just leave me alone!" She snapped turning to leave but Mike grabbed hold of her arm.

"You can't just replace me!"

"Well make up your mind!" Kate snapped.

"Hey! Let go of her!" Rory shouted running up to them.

"Rory, it's fine." Kate said quietly.

"It's not fine!" Rory said pushing Mike off her. "You have no right to come and hurt her! I heard about what happened before in the diner."

"I don't think it's any of your business so run along." Mike glared at her.

"No I won't." Rory said. "You can't treat Kate like this."

"Rory, I'm fine." Kate tried to reassure her. She was worried that Mike would do something.

"No you're not. You were hysterical before. He doesn't have a right to intimidate you like this. He's a selfish bully." Rory said.

"I am not a bully!" Mike glared at her. "I'd take that back if I were you." He threatened.

"Or what? You'll hit me like you were going to hit Kate." Rory snapped. "Go on then!"

"Rory.." Kate said.

"No I'm not scared of him." Rory glared at Mike.

Mike scowled but just grabbed Kate's arm and started dragging her away. "Come on, we need to talk away from her."

"Don't you even think about it!" Rory exclaimed pushing him off her.

"I've had enough of you!" Mike snapped and before Rory knew what was happening, he had pulled his arm back and struck her on the face, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey!" A voice shouted.

Kate looked up to see Luke running towards them and breathed a sigh of relief. He ran up, grabbed Mike and pinned him up against the wall angrily.

"Do you get your kicks bullying on girls?" He said angrily.

Kate knelt down next to Rory. "You ok?" She asked.

Rory nodded in shock. "I think so." She said putting a hand to her cheek which stung.

"I'm so sorry." Kate apologised.

"It's not your fault." Rory said.

"Get off me!" Mike said angrily.

"What, not so tough now you're up against someone your own size?" Luke growled.

Just then Jess ran up. "What's going on?" He asked. He spotted Rory on the floor. "Ror?"

"It's nothing." Rory said sitting up.

"Doesn't look like nothing." Jess said. "Is that Mike?" He asked.

"He's not worth it, Jess." Kate said.

"Is he really who you want to spend your life with?" Mike snapped. "I thought you had taste. I see I was wrong."

Jess glared and started walking over to him but Kate held him back. "Don't." She begged. "Please."

Jess scowled but stayed back.

Luke let go of Mike but pushed him away. "If I ever see you around again, I will make sure you pay."

"What, is that a threat?" Mike snapped.

"Yeh it's a threat!" Luke glared at him. "You're lucky today but if you ever hit my daughter again, you'll wish you were never born. Now get lost!" He snapped.

Something in Luke's look actually intimidated Mike so he left. Luke regained his composure and went over to Rory and helped her up. "Come on, we should get some ice on that." He looked at Kate. "You ok?"

She nodded. "Thanks to Rory."

They all headed to the diner and Luke got some ice and put it in a bag and gave it to Rory to place on her cheek. Just then, Lorelai came running in. "Rory!" She exclaimed.

"I'm fine mom." Rory said quietly.

Lorelai went over and hugged her. "What happened?"

"Mike." Rory said.

"Your ex again?" Lorelai asked Kate.

Kate nodded. "I didn't know he would hit her. I'm so sorry. I feel awful."

"It's not your fault." Rory assured her. "He's a nutcase."

"I didn't want you to get caught up in it though." Kate said.

"If I hadn't, who know what would have happened." Rory said.

"Yeh well if I see him again in this town, I won't be responsible for my actions." Luke grunted.

"Why don't we call the police? Get him arrested for assault?" Lorelai asked.

"His dad's a really well known lawyer who has loads of friends who are judges. He'd get off easily." Kate said. "It's not worth it."

"You're not staying here anymore." Lorelai said to Kate.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked worried she was kicking her out of the town.

"You're staying with us." She said. "I don't want you living by yourself."

"I can't expect you to do that for me." Kate said surprised.

"We've got a spare room." Lorelai said. "You're part of the family. Right?" She looked at Luke.

Luke nodded. "Right."

"I don't know what to say." Kate said stunned.

"Say yes." Lorelai smiled.

"Ok. Yes. Thank you." Kate smiled.

"We can start packing up your stuff now." Jess said.

She nodded and her, Jess and Rory went upstairs.

Lorelai sighed and sat down at the counter. "It is ok that she comes and stay with us right?" She asked Luke.

"Of course. It'll be safer." Luke said.

"Thank god you saw them. I hate to think what he would have done otherwise." Lorelai said quietly.

"Hey, Rory's ok. I won't let that jerk anywhere near her again." Luke promised reaching over and touching her hand.

Lorelai smiled at him. "I know you won't." She said. She glanced at the stairs. "She reminds me of me." She admitted.

"Kate?" Luke said.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeh. Scared, worried about how on earth she's going to be a mom..."

"She'll be a good mom." Luke said. "Just like you are."

Lorelai smiled at him. "I'm so glad she found Jess. And that I found you."

"Same." Luke smiled.

"I've got my twelve week scan next week. Will you be able to get off work?" She asked.

"Try and stop me." He said.

Lorelai smiled and leaned over and kissed him. "I better get back to the inn. Mia's watching inn. I just came straight here when I got a call from Patty telling me what had happened."

"Ok, see ya later then. I'll make us all dinner." He smiled.

"Sounds good. Bye hon." Lorelai smiled.

"Bye." Luke smiled and watched her leave.

 **So what do you think? Please review and let me know! :)**


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